FTC to Ask Congress for More Power in Battle Against Spam

The Federal Trade Commission is expected to ask Congress for sweeping new powers that would let it cooperate closely with other governments and prosecute domestic and overseas spammers more readily. A 13-page proposal drafted by the FTC would turn the agency's investigators into virtual spam cops, granting them the power to serve secret requests for subscriber information on Internet service providers, peruse FBI criminal databases and swap sensitive information with foreign law enforcement agencies.