S. Korea is an economic and technological leader, which makes it an important example for the rest of the world. One distinct area of leadership is S. Korea’s success in dealing with Spam where recent policy changes seem to be effective. The new regulations, enacted this July, are similar to those found elsewhere with some notable distinctions. The rules require marketers to identify their e-mails as advertisements and allow people to opt out from future e-mails through a toll free hotline. Additionally, it is also forbidden for marketers to harvest or generate e-mail addresses. Most notable however is the penalty that can reach up to $853,000 (Washington Times).
At least initially the regulations seem to be successful as the percentage of e-mail that is Spam has dropped form about 40% in March to 20% in July. Furthermore, pornographic Spam dropped 27% over the same period. (Korean Information Security Agency). Although it is always difficult to establish a chain of causation, changes are truly dramatic and will no doubt influence other nations in dealing with Spam.
However, despite the short-term drop in Spam, there is ample evidence that the problem continues to grow. For instance, South Korea currently produces 19.7% of the world’s Spam compared to 11.6% in the previous year. (Business Week) Although it is possible that Korean users are actually receiving less Spam and that the increased production is all exported, it is likely that this summers lull was only temporary.
Exactly how effective Korea’s regulations are is still unclear. What is clear, though, is that given the combined international and technological problems facing governments, such regulations will not do the job alone. What is needed to curb this growing problem, is continued global coordination and incentives for the development of anti-Spam technology.
Roman Kilun is a Research Analyst at DMO Global, Inc., a leading affiliate network solely dedicated to serving international and multicultural markets. Roman, a native born of Uzbekistan, is fluent in Russian and Spanish and focuses on emerging markets throughout the world. If you have any questions about online advertising opportunities in these markets in the online marketing space, please contact Roman Kilun at the address set forth below. DMO Global, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Dragon Media Online, Inc., an international media and technology company.
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