The London Internet Exchange (Linx), the UK's most
influential ISP organisation, has agreed tough new antispam
guidelines.
The “Best Current Practice” (BCP) code was passed unanimously by
Linx members and will be considered best practice for its 150
high-level ISPs.
The guidelines are designed to enable ISPs to close down
spammers who host e-commerce sites on a legitimate network ,while
sending bulk spam via third parties, more quickly.
They also make clear that members should clamp down on sites
that sell spamming tools.
Although it has no legal force the antispam BCPs will be used by
Linx to exert peer pressure on member ISPs, although it's not clear
how many of them already use such codes on an informal basis.
However, according to Linx spokesperson Malcolm Hutty, at least
one large UK ISP left the meeting resolved to use the new
guidelines to change the terms and conditions for customers of its
network.
Hutty pointed to the success of the previous antispam BCP,
agreed in 1999, which he claimed had cut the number of open
e-mail relays which could be used to send spam from about 20% to
less than 1% by 2003 .
The rising costs of spam for ISPs, both in hardware and,
increasingly, the cost of supporting customers who complained about
problems with bulk e-mail, meant the revised code was needed, Hutty
said.
“We will be working to spread this standard beyond the UK. We
shall also be asking for support from the Government at the World
Summit on the Information Society, OECD and other international
forums,” said Hutty.
John E Dunn writes for IDG News Service