New Anti-Spam Legislation Could Prove Ineffective
New European legislation comes into force today aimed at bringing an end to the rising tide of unwanted spam, which now accounts for more than half of the 31 billion emails sent each year.
Britain is one of the first countries to implement the wide-ranging directive on electronic communications, which means that direct marketing emails may now only be sent to consumers that have given their express permission to receive them.
The rules also cover text messages and telephone marketing, as well as the use of ‘cookie’ internet files that provide website owners with information on their users. A separate guidance regarding the legality of pop-up adverts is currently being considered by the European Commission.
Under the directive, which comes into effect on 1 January, marketers that fail to adhere to the regulations could face on the spot fines of more than £5,000. Repeated offences could lead to a jury trial, which could carry an unlimited fine.
It is hoped the legislation will bring an end to the increasing proliferation of spam, which is thought to have caused European Union businesses to lose almost £1.8 billion in productivity last year alone.
However, critics have warned that the rules could prove ineffective in the short-term with the majority of unsolicited emails originating in the United States and being sent through China, meaning that the biggest offenders will be outside the jurisdiction of the new laws.
E-Commerce Minister, Stephen Timms, said: “I think the legislation will deal quite effectively with intra-European mobile text messaging, but it will not immediately have an effect on the internet and we do need to address at an international level the question of spam.”
Research from MessageLabs shows that the problem of spam is growing exponentially with unsolicited emails now accounting for 60% of world-wide email traffic, up from less than 10% last year.
European Commission: www.europa.eu.int
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