[anti-spam-wg] AOL, Yahoo to start charging for the ability to pass mail filters

[Mally Mclane mally@localhost]

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/computersecurity/2006-02-05-aol-yahoo-email_x.htm

AOL to charge fee as way to cut spam
By Jon Swartz, USA TODAY
SAN FRANCISCO . America Online will begin charging businesses to send 
commercial e-mail to its users in the first wide-scale use of 
authenticated e-mail to reduce spam. But some marketers affected by the 
plan, set to start in several weeks, call it e-mail taxation designed to 
create a new stream of revenue for AOL.
The certified e-mail system would require advertisers to pay $2 to $3 per 
1,000 messages. The plan is optional, though AOL and its tech partner, 
Goodmail Systems, cannot guarantee that all non-certified e-mail with Web 
links and images will be delivered.

"This is all about protecting consumers from spam, phishing, viruses and 
fraud," says Richard Gingras, CEO of Goodmail.

If successful, the plan could entice other Internet service providers to 
follow. Yahoo plans to test Goodmail's system to certify e-mail for 
transactions such as financial statements and shipping confirmations.

Certified e-mail has become a hot topic in e-mail circles because many 
ISPs . out of security concerns . block messages with images and Web 
links. The AOL system would ensure such messages pass its stringent e-mail 
defenses and reach its 25.5 million subscribers worldwide. Gingras 
compares the system to certified postal mail.

"This will be painful for marketers in the beginning, but it is a positive 
step in forcing them to be more selective in who they e-mail," says 
Jupiter Research's David Daniels. "Many now just blast e-mail rather than 
target an audience."

Anyone can apply for the program. Goodmail determines if applicants are 
legitimate companies with pristine e-mail standards. AOL has final 
approval. E-mail of approved companies will come with digital tokens 
recognized by AOL security defenses. AOL subscribers will still be able to 
block mail from certified senders by adjusting anti-spam tools on their 
accounts, AOL spokesman Nicholas Graham says.

AOL says The New York Times and American Red Cross have signed up for the 
service. Spending on e-mail marketing is expected to jump 24%, to $1.1 
billion, by 2010 from $885 million in 2005, Jupiter Research estimates.

Still, the revamped commercial e-mail system could have unintended 
consequences for some marketers and consumers.

"It's taxation of the good guys with cash, and it does nothing to help the 
good guys who can't afford the cost or to deter the bad guys who spam 
anyway," says Matt Blumberg, CEO of Return Path, an e-mail services 
company. "Baloney," says AOL's Graham, scoffing at suggestions the e-mail 
system amounts to taxation. "That's competitive chatter and sour grapes."

Consumers, meanwhile, may discover that some commercial e-mail they 
previously received, and wanted, no longer arrives if advertisers opt not 
to pay AOL, some e-mail marketers warn. E-mail users would need to 
retrieve them from a spam folder.

"This takes a system that works and shoves a stick in the flywheel of 
communication," says Jordan Ayan, CEO of SubscriberMail, an e-mail service 
provider for high-tech, media and sports companies.