Bill would put a stop to wireless spam

So my phone bring-brings that I have a message. I pick up the phone and I see a message that someone is trying to send me an MP3 and do I want to accept it? Hell, no. Other times, I just plain get unsolicited messages and these I pay for on my bill. It's not an indiret cost like email spam (I don't pay more to get more email) - it's a direct friggin' 10 cents on my phone bill.

Sens. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Bill Nelson (D-FL) have teamed up to introduce a bill that will attack this problem of mobile spam.

Called the mSpam Act, the bill would empower the FTC and FCC to punish those who send text messages to wireless numbers on a "do not call" registry, according to a statement.

"Mobile spam invades both a consumer’s cell phone and monthly bill," Senator Snowe said. "There is also increasing concern that mobile spam will become more than just an annoyance—the viruses and malicious spyware that are often attached to traditional spam will most likely be more prevalent on wireless devices through m-spam. This significant and looming threat must be addressed in order to protect consumers and vital wireless services."

Mobile spam in 2007 was at 1.1 million mesages, up 38 percent over 2006 levels. Those 2008 numbers should be interesting.