Plans in the US to establish a national do-not-email list have stalled, with the government saying it would not work. The idea is based around the do-not-call telephone marketing list, which was launched in the US a few years ago. It has proven overwhelmingly popular, I think half of the US population is now subscribed, and thus preventing having their dinners interupted by phone salespeople.

The government’s opposition to the do-not-email list is fair – spammers operate either illegally, or in a legal grey zone, so are probably not going to take much notice of a list of email addresses they are not supposed to mail. And more importantly:

“The agency said such a registry cannot work because there is no effective system for “authentication,” or verification of the origin of an e-mail message. “

They also point out the obvious security concerns – the do-not-email list would be like gold for any spammer who could hack or steal it.