Spam's End Is Near, Says United Nations

GENEVA – The United Nations officially got involved in the global war on spam Tuesday, offering a solution that if adopted by governments and software companies could end the spam epidemic in two years.

The UN's involvement in the spam war comes at the behest of anti-spam advocacy groups who claim that if drastic measures aren't taken, spam will soon drive millions of users away from the Internet.

Officials running a three-day U.N. meeting told a news conference that porn, phishing and other forms of Internet fraud facilitated by spammers could effectively kill off Internet commerce if the problem isn't addressed and solutions applied swiftly.

"If we don't work together," said Robert Shaw, Internet strategy expert for the UN. "We may see millions of people abandoning the net entirely out of frustration and disgust."

Representatives for the UN are proposing strict legislation that would give governments the power to hold Internet service providers responsible for facilitating the circulation of spam. There would also be information compiled on all companies and individuals engaged in spamming in order to enforce criminal prosecutions on a global level.

According to the International Telecommunications Union, the spam scourge is costing the world an estimated $25 billion each year in fraud, worker productivity and network damage from viruses.

"If we achieve full international cooperation among governments and software companies, this plague which affects so many of us in our everyday life will be defeated in short order," said Robert Horton, Australia's top regulator.

So far the UN initiative has produced a memorandum of understanding between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia agreeing to share information on spammers, cooperate in tracking spammers, exchange evidence, facilitate law enforcement against spammers, and coordinate enforcement against international spam violations.

“Illegal spam does not respect national boundaries,” said Timothy Muris, chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, in a statement. “This agreement is an important next step to help law enforcers leverage resources to combat illegal spam.”

The MOU also includes an agreement for representatives from those three countries to meet in October in London to discuss anti-spam enforcement efforts.

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Strike 3 Holdings Sues Meta for Pirating Vixen Media Group Content to Train AI

Vixen Media Group owner Strike 3 Holdings filed suit in federal court this week, accusing Facebook parent company Meta of copyright infringement and alleging that Meta has extensively pirated VMG content to train its artificial intelligence models.

Pineapple Support, Streamate to Host 'Navigating Grief and Loss' Support Group

Pineapple Support and Streamate are hosting a free online support group to help performers cope with grief and loss.

Friday is Final AV Compliance Deadline in UK

Friday, July 25 marks U.K. media regulator Ofcom’s deadline for user-to-user services such as tube, cam and fan sites to implement its requisite “highly effective age assurance” measures for preventing minors from viewing adult content.

AEBN Publishes Popular Searches for May, June

AEBN has released the top search terms for the months of May and June from its straight and gay theaters in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Ofcom Releases Transparency Reporting Guidelines

Ofcom, the U.K. media regulator, has made public its official guidance detailing how online service providers — including adult sites — will be required to publish annual transparency reports on their efforts to protect children from online harms.

New AV Rules Take Effect for Ireland-Based Sites

Ireland’s Online Safety Code came into force Monday, including a provision requiring adult sites headquartered in Ireland to implement age assurance measures beyond self-declaration.

XBIZ Amsterdam Calls on New Startups for 'Spotlight' Program

XBIZ is pleased to announce that its new “Startup Spotlight” programming will make its European premiere at XBIZ Amsterdam 2025, set to take place Sept. 2-5 at the Jakarta Hotel Amsterdam.

Texas Resumes AV Lawsuit Against Aylo Following SCOTUS Decision

A district court judge in Texas has unfrozen the state’s $1.6 million lawsuit against Aylo for allegedly failing to comply with age verification requirements, Bloomberg Law is reporting.

JuicyAds Wins Trademark Infringement Case Against Fraudulent Domain

JuicyAds has won its World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) case against a website using a similar domain to impersonate the company's site and defraud customers.

Anissa Kate, Jordan Starr Top AEBN for Q2 of 2025

AEBN has published its top-selling stars for the second quarter of 2025, with Anissa Kate landing atop the leaderboard for straight theaters and Jordan Starr heading up the gay rankings.

Show More