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I just received this in an E-mail today. I've heard rumors or charging for E-mail but don't know how far it has ever gone. Anyhow this is what was in the E-mail:
Subject: Read this and pass it on
Subject: Federal Bill 602P-Mail Charge
Guess the warnings were true. Federal Bill 602P charges 5-cents per
E-mail sent. It figures! No more free E-mail! We knew this was coming!!
Bill 602P will permit the Federal Government to charge a 5-cent charge
on every delivered E-mail.
Please read the following carefully if you intend to stay online and
continue using E-mail. The last few months have revealed an alarming
trend in the Government of the United States attempting to quietly push
through legislation that will affect our use of the Internet.
Under proposed legislation, the US Postal Service will be attempting
to bill E-mail users out of "alternative postage fees."
Bill 602P will permit the Federal Government to charge a 5-cent
surcharge on every e-mail delivered, by billing Internet Service
Providers at source. The consumer would then be billed in turn by the
ISP. Washington, DC lawyer Richard Stepp is working without pay to
prevent this legislation from becoming law.
The US Postal Service is claiming lost revenue, due to the proliferation
of E-mail, is costing nearly $230,000,000 in revenue per year. You may
have noticed their recent ad campaign: "There is nothing like a
letter."
Since the average person received about 10 pieces of E-mail per day in
1998, the cost of the typical individual would be an additional 50
cents a day -- or over $180 per year -- above and beyond their regular
Internet costs.
Note that this would be money paid directly to the US Postal Service
for a service they do not even provide.
The whole point of the Internet is democracy and noninterference. You
are already paying an exorbitant price for snail mail because of
bureaucratic inefficiency. It currently takes up to 6 days for a
letter to be delivered from coast to coast. If the US Postal Service is
allowed to tinker with E-mail, it will mark the end of the "free" Internet in
the United States.
Congressional representative, Tony Schnell (R) has even suggested a
"$20-$40 per month surcharge on all Internet service" above and beyond
the governments proposed E-mail charges. Note that most of the major
newspapers have ignored the story the only exception being the
Washingtonian which called the idea of E-mail surcharge "a useful
concept who's time has come" (March 6th, 1999 Editorial). Do not sit
by and watch your freedom erode away!
Send this E-mail to EVERYONE on your list, and tell all your friends and
relatives to write their congressional representative and say "NO" to
Bill 602P.
It will only take a few moments of your time and could very well be
instrumental in killing a bill we do not want.
PLEASE FORWARD!
Does anyone know more on this? Is this a hoax or not?
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