The Ethics of Spam

Paper Summary:

This paper looks at how unsolicited junk email, better known as spam, has become a powerful marketing tool for entrepreneurs around the world. In particular, the paper discusses what spammers fail to recognize, from an ethical standpoint, is the sanctity of an email inbox when it comes to consumer privacy. The paper also examines how federal and state governments have enacted anti-spam legislation in an effort to enforce ethical email practices.

From the Paper:

"What spammers fail to recognize, from an ethical standpoint, is the sanctity of an email inbox when it comes to consumer privacy. CEO Larry Shertz sums it up when he appeals that "people's in-boxes are as much part of their private domain as are their bedrooms" (Shertz, 2008). Nonetheless, big, medium, and small businesses continue to send unsolicited email to consumers every day. Some dress up their ethics by allowing consumers to "opt-in"--agreeing via an online button to receive messages. But often the buttons are misleading, or connected to strings of small text that mislead consumers into signing up for spam. Spam merchants harvest email addresses from lists provided by companies that round them up. Other companies buy email addresses from partnering businesses."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Clarke, Roger. "Spam" 1997 (updated 2004) retrieved 09/02/2008 from
• Covington, Michael. "Ethics on the Internet" Electronics Now Magazine September 1997.
• England, Lizabeth. "Marketing With A Conscience: Sales and Ethics" 2008 retrieved 09/02/2008 from
• Gibbs, Mark. "The Ethics of Spam" Network World 04/02/2001 retrieved 09/02/2008 from
• Goss, Grant. "Judge orders end to weight-loss, anti-aging spam operation" PC World 6 February, 2008.

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