Since the first anti-spam law worldwide was passed in 1997, at least 75 governments around the world have passed anti-spam laws. That first anti-spam law was in fact passed at state-level in the United States, by the state of Nevada. The anti-spam laws in existence today take the form of so-called “opt-in” or “opt-out” regulations. Some require labels or other markings to identify certain messages as unsolicited or pornographic. Others punish senders who use fraudulent or deceptive techniques. Still others require the sender to provide his or her identity and a mechanism to remove the recipient from future mailings. A survey of anti-spam laws around the world shows that the tools lawmakers have used to regulate spam are varied. Unfortunately, the one common trait they share is that almost all have failed to effectively tackle the problem, which has persisted beyond all legal countermeasures. An effective approach has yet to be found, but a deeper enquiry into how to create an effective law is more valid than ever before.