Junk E-Mail is Abusive to the Internet and its Users :: Argumentative Persuasive Argument Essays

Junk E-Mail is Abusive to the Internet and its Users    With in the past decade, the term â€Å"junk mail† has transformed from a pile of flashy advertisements and unnecessary coupon books to an intruding, pervasive, and even offensive collection of electronic messages. Though, the distribution of postal mail for the purpose of advertisement is governed by effective laws, distribution of unsolicited email runs free across the internet at the expense of others. The solicitation of â€Å"junk e-mail† fosters profit for few, at the inconvenience of many. Though the solicitors of junk email are to blame for the mail itself, the government is to blame for the continuing flow and lack of response to this dilemma. Email is one of the most popular means of communications today. According to our textbook, Media Now, â€Å"Obviously, the ‘killer’ electronic application these days is email. Its presence is all but inbiquitous among computer users and its growth skyrockets day by day† (LaRose, 362). In fact, email is even more widely used than the United States Postal Service (LaRose, 362). If email circulates more mail than the post office, then why is email less regulated? The internet and email is a new technology which Congress is unsure on how to regulate. Email has become popular only within the past few years, but regulation must be enacted. According to the Final Comments to the Federal Trade Commission on Unsolicited Commercial Email which was compiled in June of 1997, the burdens of junk email is expected to grow. In fact, most people do not want this unsolicited mail sent to them. World research reports that over one half of the people they surveyed â€Å"hated† junk mail, and another one fourth found it â€Å"bothersome†(Semilof, 1). Something must be done. One might ask, however, why email needs to be regulated. The core of the problem is the extra costs and intrusions of privacy which junk email provokes. Senders of junk email slow the processing and quality of Internet Service Providers, intrude privacy by harvesting email addresses, and unfairly distribute mail to uninterested consumers. Junk email incures storage costs, productivity costs, bandwidth or telephone line costs, and processing costs (Simmons, 24). Senders of this mail benefit from the burden on others. Though the senders of this mail need to be stopped, action must be taken to stop them.