The Australian Government has just released an anti-spam plugin for Outlook/Express that allows users to auto-delete spam and simultaneously report it to a central database.

Can you imagine all the jaded lover harassment email, falsely portrayed as a note regarding tax evasion, that is going to wind up in that thing?

It is hard to tell how effective spam laws are, as you don’t hear much about prosecutions for their violation. I suspect the reason is that such events are few and far between. Case in point: Australia just nailed the first spammer under their law - one that has been in place for a few years now.

It took the US a little over a year to nab their first spammer under CAN-SPAM. The bust resulted in a settlement that some would consider a bit weak.

A law without teeth is hardly a law at all. How tough do you have to get to stop the nonsense?

This isn’t a new idea: ban infected computers from the net. Some Australian ISPs have already done this with zombied computers, and the FTC has pushed for the same.

It is not a bad idea. In fact, I think it is a damn good one, no matter what Microsoft says. Put the responsibility for safe computing in the hands of the user, much like the responsibility one has when behind the wheel. If you are somehow infected through carelessness (or flat out ineptitude), you can continue your work, just within the confines of your Linksys router instead of my hard drive.

This post could just have aptly been titled “Australia Gets Tough on Internet Crooks,” as we already know they are tough on spammers. Cripes, even the ISPs down under are hammering spam.

Back to the subject at hand..uh, that was spyware, right?

I am not sure how this is going to work, but the Australian parliament is pushing a concept that would make ISPs liable for spyware that crosses their network into a customer’s machine.

Senator Brian Greig called the measure tougher than banning spyware altogether. The onus is on the ISP, and they will be the target of legal action if they don’t watch their socks.

In America, ISPs would likely welcome this with open arms, as then they would have an excuse to charge more for internet access. But in Australia, with much fewer providers, I hope the government doesn’t allow this, mostly because I have a lot of friends in Australia that I don’t want to see getting gouged to fix a problem that isn’t their’s in the first place.

The Australian Communications Authority is pulling no punches in the war on spam. Recently, they fined an online car broker for picking phone numbers out of the classified ads and SMS spamming them all (see SMS Spammer Pleads Unfairness), and now they have executed a raid on a big operation in Perth.

The Australian reported that the operation was suspected of sending tens of millions of emails to unsuspecting “customers.” According to the SPAM ACT 2003, the accused stands to be fined AU1.1 million per day if they are found to be a repeat corporate offender.

On the other note, the online car broker is interesing, mostly because of the perps ridiculous claim upon being busted. When the ACA laid down the fine, they argued that they were subject to unfair competition at the hands of the spam laws. The broker in question said that large car dealer could afford to hire telemarketers to call potential clients, but they could not. I think the Australian Communications Authority should fine them again, this time under the Australian Anti-Acting-Stupid law.

With regard to my comment yesterday on housing prices “already beginning” to correct, here is a report from across the pond: Guardian Unlimited Money | News_ | House prices fell in December.

Note that interest rates in the UK crossed the trough before those in the US. Rates started climbing in Australia round about the same time, and the lines at open houses Down Under have long since disappeared. Also keep in mind that the UK is densely populated, and is loaded with real estate speculators (those buying properties with no intention of moving in and/or investing in developments), much like many of the areas in the US which have see the biggest price increases. Those speculators will go running for cover first. Then the games begin.

I may be way off base, but these three countries (the UK, Australia, and the US), have something else in common too, trade deficits. Wealth being sucked out of the systems, some (like the US) at an alarming rate. With price driven by indebtedness, and liquidity on shrink, I say…

Welcome to the global economy.