Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to Start Charging Users for Processing Spam Addressed to Users

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A group of U.S.-based Internet service providers (ISPs) have announced that they are going to start charging their email users for processing the spam that is addressed to them. As the deluge of spam continues unabated, ISPs are seeking new ways to help offset the cost of processing the trillions of pieces of junk email that they are keeping out of their customers’ inboxes (or, in some cases, still delivering to their customers’ inbox or junk folder).

“Our users don’t realize that even though they are seeing a tiny fraction of the spam addressed to them, because of our spam-filtering systems, the majority of our resources are being used in dealing with the overload of spam pouring into our servers every day, and it’s nearly all addressed to our users,” said a spokesperson for Yahoo.

Although officially Google is still looking at whether to jump on board and start charging their users for processing their spam, a senior-level manager at Google was even more direct. “I think it’s a great idea, and I think that we are going to be doing it too. If email users weren’t so careless with their email addresses, we wouldn’t be in this situation. They are the ones who allowed their email address to be harvested and used by spammers. Why should we have to pay for that?”

While this will affect primarily users of the free email services such as Yahoo, Gmail and Hotmail, some ISPs are purportedly considering charging their paying email customers as well, rather than raising their existing rates across the board. “If I have kept my email address secure, and am not getting a load of spam, why should I have to pay for the processing of the thousands of pieces of spam you get because you weren’t as careful with your email address?” observed the Google engineer.

While the move to start charging users for processing their spam is currently limited to ISPs in the United States, some Internet service providers in other countries are watching closely.

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“It’s an idea that makes a lot of sense, and we are watching it very closely,” said Primo d’Avril, General Manager for French ISP TeleConnect.fr.

{P.S. This article originally posted on April 1st, 2010}

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8 thoughts on “Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to Start Charging Users for Processing Spam Addressed to Users

  1. i make mistake in the post comment,so how can i delete it from the page,like Chris said !How can i fix it? I just want to warning the good people be careful.Don’t be shy to let the world know that how bad they try to do. Wait to see ” Comes around and will goes around”

  2. if your stupid to use your full name on your email address and scammers got some idia where you live say you informed them by error as saying i lve in Brighton ALL THEY HAVE TO DO IS LOOK IT UP ON 192.COM THIS IS WHEN HAVING A NAME SURNAME LIKE SMITH IS AN ADVANTAGE !!

  3. I don’t think it was in very good taste either! Any more jokes like that and Anne’s and Internet Patrols credability will go straight down the pan!

  4. Wow! I was had by this. With a name like the Internet Patrol I didn’t expect a prank about Internet issues.
    I admit, I didn’t read the fine print. Lesson learned.

    That said, I don’t think this type of joke on this particular site is funny. What this mean is, I can’t trust anything said on April 1, not even from a site that allegedly “patrols” the Internet.
    This is like saying there is a new virus warning, or phishing scam to beware of.
    Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.

  5. Well, I have a catch-all email address. This means that the spammers can make up any name they want in front of the @ part, and using the rest of my domain name, that spam will reach my inbox.

    So whatever@my-domain.org will reach my inbox.

    Obviously an April fools Joke!

  6. What a load of crap. I get messages I didn’t ask for, addressed to the domain where my address is, and now I’m to blame? If this ever happens I’ll drop any account that does this, and set up one that is private. I use gmail for almost everything. One of the reasons is the great spam filter. But I won’t pay for that. I think this is just another scare tactic.

    I do agree that most people don’t know much about email, are lazy and careless with it. Putting their entire address book in the ‘To’ field, exposing everyone to the world is stupid. But I can’t control stupidity, and neither can Google or any ISP.

  7. A bad plan. I use unique email addresses most of the time for many businesses that I deal with. You can publish this one for the harvesters: robin.microcenter@aladin2001.com I don’t know how or why, but I was getting 5-15 spams per day at an address that was given out to only 1 reputable business.

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