Every morning I sift through hundreds of unwanted e-mails to get to the messages I want to read. If I had to do the same on my cell phone, smartphone, or PDA, it would drive me crazy.

Unfortunately, mobile devices are exactly where pundits think the next wave of "illegitimate" advertising—in the form of bulk e-mails, SMS and, maybe even, MMS messages—will occur. To help curb this onslaught before it begins, an industry group called the Mobile Marketing Association has formed an Anti-Spam Committee.

The Mobile Marketing Association is a U.S.-based international collection of advertising agencies, advertisers, handheld manufacturers, carriers, retailers, software providers, service providers, etc. that are geared towards exploiting mobile devices as a means to deliver ads and market goods and services.

As the Mobile Marketing Association's Global Chairman, Jim Manis, said "The mobile channel is the fastest-growing medium for brand marketers and content providers today." For example, some 165 million wireless customers currently send roughly 2.5 billion SMS marketing messages per month. That's a lot of consumers for advertisers of all stripes to target in the U.S. alone—and a very convenient method (SMS) to do so.

The Mobile Marketing Association said it launched the Anti-Spam Committee to help ensure the consumer's right to opt out, if they desire. Of course, it also wants to build a foundation for the long-term success of mobile advertising.

To start things off, the organization created an industry-wide Code of Conduct that is now part of many legal contracts used by carriers and aggregators in the mobile marketing space. The code—a direct result of the demand for mobile marketing from brands to carriers—provides guidelines by which companies market their products and services to consumers. It addresses six areas of concern: choice, control, customization, consideration, constraint, and confidentiality.

As for the Anti-Spam Committee, it will research the merits of a national preference-and-privacy database designed to ensure a Spam-free mobile experience. The aim of such a system is to allow consumers to opt in and out of various types of marketing campaigns.

The problem with such a system, as it is currently being discussed, is that it would be optional—both for consumers and advertisers. Without a mandatory system in place, how could the Mobile Marketing Association enforce this initiative?

And although it is laudable for the Mobile Marketing Association to attempt to police its members, what, if any, jurisdiction would it have over other types of advertisers in a legal or practical sense?

With Congress finally taking up the anti-spam mantle, perhaps it and local governments need to consider addressing the mobile space as well.