Deadline for anti-Spam legislation has passed - MEP urges action

12.00.00am GMT Mon 17th Nov 2003

Bill Newton Dunn, Liberal Democrat Euro MP for the East Midlands, today urged the 10 Member States that have missed the deadline for the implementation of EU anti-Spam laws to act.

Speaking as the European Parliament looks ahead to the next report on the implementation of EU telecomms law, Mr Newton Dunn, who was rapporteur of the EU's 'Safer use of the Internet' package, warned:

" So far only Denmark, Spain, Italy, Austria and Sweden have transposed EU legislation to outlaw and seriously restrict the sending of unsolicited commercial email - Spam. The deadline was the end of October this year.

Spam leads to a loss in productivity in the EU of some €2.5bn a year

"Spam is a problem that pays no heed to national boundaries. It is vital that all EU states transpose this legislation as soon as possible if we in the East Midlands are to have a chance of tackling this annoying and potentially crippling problem.

" Spam now makes up 50% of global email traffic. It wastes our time, causes tremendous frustration and leads to huge losses in productivity for business. Everyone using email in the East Midlands is affected.

"The Internet is a fantastic tool. We must not allow some people to spoil it for others. There is a real risk that without action, our electronic communication systems will grind to a halt."

ENDS

· The Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive prohibits the sending of unsolicited commercial communications by fax, email, and SMS without prior consent of the addressee (opt-in).

· Where there is an existing customer relationship with a company, the customer can be contacted for the marketing of similar products and services but this must be made clear and the customer must be continually given the right to object (opt-out).

· Direct marketing where the identity and return address of the sender are hidden is prohibited.

· The UK is on track to pass anti-spamming laws in December this year.

· The loss in productivity for EU business in 2002 was estimated at €2.5 billion.