Emailcharges

Description

There are two versions of this chain letter being forwarded
around the internet.

The text for the American version reads as follows:

Subject:

email charges

Text of the letter:

I guess the warnings were true. Federal Bill 602P 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 non-interference. You are already paying an
exorbitant price for snail mail because of bureaucratic efficiency. 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. Our 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 to E-mail to EVERYONE on your
list, and tell all your friends and relatives 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.

The text for the Australian version reads as follows:

Government rip-off on Emails bill to add hidden costs

Please forward

Original Source : https://www.sophos.com//en-us/threat-center/threat-analyses/hoaxes/chain-letter/emailcharges