All of us, in one way or the other have at some point of time encountered those annoying telemarketing calls. You are in the midst of an important client meeting and the phone rings. How does it feel? Obviously it is very irritating. This happens with our email IDs as well. You sign in to your account and what do you see? Your inbox is flooded with a bulk of unsolicited spam messages. Here you have an additional task in hand. You try to go through a process of cleansing and sorting only to reach to the genuine messages. So, what is the solution?
Email service providers like Gmail and others already have their inbuilt filtering mechanisms. But are they enough? Otherwise how do we keep getting those annoying and unwanted messages that test our patience, money and resources in spite of the filters? Why can’t we choose the type of content that we prefer to read or engage in? The question that comes to mind is – Is technology enough to counter this nuisance?
Softwares have viruses, Ram has Ravan and so is this never-ending competition of spam and anti spam. The need of the hour is an impartial umpire to lay out a set of guidelines to safeguard the interest of the numerous internet users across the country. If we look at US, Canada and European countries, we will find a very clear guideline in Cyber laws that include spamming as well. But surprisingly in India, we do not have an Anti-Spam law. Here are a few points that will highlight some key issues as to why we need to get more aware about getting ourselves a proper law or rules of compliance to defend our interests.
5 Reasons Why India Should Have An Anti-Spam Law
1. Trust:
As you receive one of those special discounts, offers or Industry updates in your inbox, sometimes you might not be completely sure about its authenticity. The name may surprisingly differ from the Email address from which you have received the message. The origin itself seems to be on the doubtful side. We are always more happy to receive messages from an approved sender than a stranger or a robot. Misleading header information, deceptive subject lines, absence of a proper location, emotional distress at disturbing material are other issues of this woe.
2. Relevance:
Let’s take for an example that you are a college student of a humble background preparing with utmost focus for your exams. What do you have to do with a 20% discount on a tour to the Niagra Falls from a travel agency when your priorities are completely different? It is more like explaining Ghalib’s shayari to a Nigerian who is neither interested nor can comprehend the language or the subject matter. Probably a good link to relevant study materials is what he is looking for.
3. Frequency:
Frequent hammering is for nails to push them in but definitely not for humans. After a point of time this becomes nothing less than an irritation. Irrelevant craps deposited in the inboxes at frequent intervals lead to greater storage requirements and clean up on part of the receiver which in itself is a waste of time and efforts.
4. Intrusion:
Apart from Email IDs that are on public display e.g. that of an organization in their “Contact us” list, most data bases originate from explicit and implicit permissions we give when we leave our contact details with any feedback form, visiting card etc. Here we are genuinely interested in an update. Sometimes we even forget about them as well. However, if this database lands into the hands of an unapproved sender the problem starts from there. It will mean a direct intrusion into our private space with information in which we are least bothered. We should have a right to choose what we want to receive. If there is no law to enforce an unsubscribe button you are in no position to dodge this trespassing.
5. Vulnerability:
Spammers are not merely using Emails—they are abusing the medium to inject insecure contents, viruses and malware into the receiver’s machine. Spammers very often trick the receiver into divulging vital information which can range from bank account details to very personal ones. Obscene or harmful contents can make children vulnerable as well.
Also read: Top Email Spam Laws
As we can see from the above-mentioned facts that there is a serious need for an introspection in the matter of spams and spammers. For a true marketer, this poses a serious threat through an erosion of impact, adding to the clutter, customer dissatisfaction, mistrust etc while at the receiver’s end the negativity can be much more than what has been stated above.
If we look at the CAN-SPAM Act, 2003 in the US, we can have a very clear idea as to how the authorities have an obvious mandate to regulate the email scenario by imposing stiff penalties for the wrong doers. We can surely make a reference to that and other laws present in the European countries in this context to arrive at a decision as to why this has become so important to have an Anti-Spam Law. The rest is up for debates and discussions to decide based on the unique demography and way of life that India and Indians envisage.
Conclusion
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