On September 30, 2003, interMute announced that they are offering a free copy of their spam-blocking software, SpamSubtract, to all California Gubernatorial candidates. interMute hopes to demonstrate to the potential next Governor of California how its SpamSubtract technology is a more realistic and effective approach to stopping spam, versus the broad, sweeping, and unenforceable anti-spam laws currently being considered.
"California state representatives are reacting to the level of frustration and anger being expressed by their constituents. Each day, millions of unwanted and often offensive junk emails are being shoved into constituent's Inboxes. People want relief. However, the Internet knows no state boundaries and state-level anti-spam laws are just a spam placebo," said Ed English, CEO of interMute. "What would mailing a letter or package be like if we had 50 sets of state-specific post office rules, addressing standards and fines? Postal mail would be crippled. Any effective spam legislation must be considered on a federal level, and even then international problems will remain. Spam is a technology problem and to solve it, email users need a technology solution."
It is interMute's hope that the next California Governor will stop lawmakers and courts from spending more time and taxpayer money debating legislation that has no real possibility of ridding California of spam. And, after trying SpamSubtract, interMute believes the candidates will realize that the solution to California's spam woes is anti-spam technology, not state-level legislation. Technology is a more effective and practical approach to stop spam than state-level laws can ever be.