The UN's International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has called on ISP's to draw up enforceable codes of conduct, which would allow for a tougher line against customers caught send mass SPAM (junk e-mail):

Furthermore, ISPs should agree only to enter into peering (traffic exchange) arrangements with service providers who also take a firm stance against junk mail. "So far, existing anti-spam laws have had little effect as most laws target spammers, not the ISPs that carry spam," ITU regulatory reform unit head Doreen Bogdan told the FT.

Only 32 (mostly Western) countries have anti-spam legislation and just a third of nations have any body responsible for fighting spam. Worldwide legislation is needed in order to prevent safe havens for spammers, but only co-ordinated action by service providers has the potential to bring spam - reckoned to account for 70 per cent of all email traffic - to heel, the ITU concludes.

It's a good idea, although the greatest problem is likely to be that such policies would be self-regulated. Un-enforced ideals have a tendency to be ignored, often by countries where the problem is most prevalent.

However if enough providers and network operators around the world did adopt such a stance then others might be forced to follow. More @ The Register.