WWW- Many people are almost afraid to open their email for fear of unwanted and unsolicited pornography. Even worse, parents are worried that their children will be exposed to this moral menace. Recently NBC did an in-depth story about tracking down a porn spammer, but concluded that there wasn’t much you could do about the problem. Morality in Media President Robert Peters says that is not quite true.

“In 2003, Congress passed a “Can Spam Act” which has a whole host of provisions in terms of what any type of spammer isn’t supposed to do. And porn spammers violate this law everyday.”

Those provisions include making it illegal for spammers to send unsolicited pornography using a computer. But Mike Johnson of the Alliance Defense Fund says one of the problems with the law is enforcement.

“The U.S. Department of Justice, as well as state and local law enforcement officials, are really giving this an effort and are making it a priority to try to clamp down on these abuses of the law.”

Johnson says if you have a problem with unwanted porn spam, simply take action.

“It takes citizens to be willing to take the initiative to not just brush it off but bring it to the attention of law enforcement, and if necessary, and when available, maybe even pursue private lawsuits.

Peters says there are many places where you can file complaints.

“And one thing everybody can do is make complaints whether it’s to the ISP or the FTC or to the U.S. Attorney or to the Justice Department, but complaints could be made.”

Both Peters and Johnson agree that citizen action is the best way to stop unwanted internet porn spam. The Federal Trade Commission and The Department of Justice should be contacted if you receive such unwanted email.