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TOP STORIES FOR MONDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2004 First Victory for CAN-SPAM Act Antispam Conference Calls for International Cooperation Oracle Exec Says Bid Could Drop Significantly FIRST VICTORY FOR CAN-SPAM ACT The first state prosecution under the federal CAN-SPAM Act was resolved this week when the state of Massachusetts reached a settlement with DC Enterprises and its principal owner, William Carson. Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly had filed the suit against Carson and DC Enterprises in July, alleging that the company sent thousands of messages that failed to provide a valid "opt-out" feature, did not identify themselves as advertisements, and used bogus return addresses. The messages reportedly asked recipients to send personal and financial information. In a statement, Reilly described the e-mail messages as the type that "threaten the credibility of companies using e-mail for legitimate purposes." Carson and DC Enterprises will pay $25,000 and will end practices that violate the CAN-SPAM Act as well as Massachusetts state laws. CNET, 11 October 2004 http://news.com.com/2100-1030_3-5406062.html ANTISPAM CONFERENCE CALLS FOR INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION Attendees of the International Spam Enforcement Workshop this week heard officials from the United States and the United Kingdom make the case that a key element to addressing the problem of spam is increased international cooperation. Data suggest that 60 percent of all e-mail is spam and that 80 percent of spam originates in a different country from where it is delivered. More than 20 nations were represented at the workshop, organized by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the U.K.'s Office of Fair Trading (OFT). Deborah Majoras, chairwoman of the FTC, said that the biggest challenge to stopping spam is locating its source, which requires governments to share information on suspected spammers. Richard Thomas, the U.K.'s Information Commissioner, called for expanding powers of enforcement to shut down spammers. He said governments should pass laws requiring Internet service providers (ISPs) to disclose information about spam sent on their systems, something ISPs currently are not forced to do. BBC, 11 October 2004 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3733864.stm ORACLE EXEC SAYS BID COULD DROP SIGNIFICANTLY In testimony to a Delaware court, Oracle co-president Safra Catz said Monday that her company's bid for rival PeopleSoft could drop by as much as one-quarter to one-third, citing PeopleSoft's performance this year. Catz noted that the current bid of $21 per share is based in part on earnings estimates that are 10 months old and may no longer be representative of PeopleSoft's earnings. According to Catz, "PeopleSoft as a standalone entity is really not viable longer term." Oracle took PeopleSoft to court in Delaware to challenge the anti-takeover measures put in place by PeopleSoft, including the Customer Assurance program, which would require any acquiring company to pay customers between two and five times the purchase price of software that the acquiring company discontinues. Attorneys for PeopleSoft contend that the trial itself, as well as statements from Catz and from Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, are intended simply to drive down the cost of acquiring PeopleSoft. Wall Street Journal, 11 October 2004 (sub. req'd) http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB109750976646641994,00.html ***************************************************** EDUPAGE INFORMATION To subscribe, unsubscribe, or change your settings, visit http://www.educause.edu/pub/edupage/ Or, you can subscribe or unsubscribe by sending e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To SUBSCRIBE, in the body of the message type: SUBSCRIBE Edupage YourFirstName YourLastName To UNSUBSCRIBE, in the body of the message type: SIGNOFF Edupage If you have subscription problems, send e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For past issues of Edupage or information about translations of Edupage into other languages, visit http://www.educause.edu/pub/edupage/ ***************************************************** OTHER EDUCAUSE PUBLICATIONS EDUCAUSE publishes periodicals, including "EQ" and "EDUCAUSE Review," books, and other materials dealing with the impacts and implications of information technology in higher education. For information on EDUCAUSE publications see http://www.educause.edu/pub/ ***************************************************** CONFERENCES For information on all EDUCAUSE learning and networking opportunities, see http://www.educause.edu/conference/ ***************************************************** COPYRIGHT Edupage copyright (c) 2004, EDUCAUSE
