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Unsolicited e-mail

Answer

The Government introduced statutory controls on spam by means of the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003, which entered into force on 11 December 2003. The Regulations provide a first line of defence against spam where the recipient has no knowledge of the advertiser or the products being marketed. The regulations require that unsolicited spam must not be sent to an individual subscriber unless prior permission has been obtained or unless there is a previous relationship between the parties. The regulations can be enforced against an offending company or individual anywhere in the European Union (EU). There is regular contact between my Department, the Department of Constitutional Affairs and the Information Commissioner's Office regarding operation of these regulations.The Government recognises the source of the problem is often outside our borders and has therefore promoted international co-operation initiatives such as the London Action Plan, and plays a major role in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's Anti Spam Task Force, which is the lead intergovernmental organisation dealing with spam. Additionally on 2 July 2004 a Memorandum of Understanding was agreed between the United Kingdom, United States and Australia, which aims to reduce further the problem by committing enforcement authorities, which for the UK is the Information Commissioner's Office and the Office of Fair Trading, to work together to investigate those sending spam.The end user has a role to play in taking action to avoid being a target for those sending spam, as well as taking action to filter spam. Information has been made available to the public and to business by my Department, the Information Commissioner's Office, the Office of Fair Trading as well as a number of sites provided by service and software providers. These messages have been reinforced by the Get Safe Online initiative that launched on 27 October 2005. This is an initiative between Government and Industry to help individuals and businesses protect themselves against internet threats, including spam. The Government do not measure the amount of spam sent to UK businesses and private citizens.Officials engage with Microsoft and the Internet Service Providers on a regular basis, in particular as part of the UK based Anti Spam Working Group, which DTI leads. Ministers have not had contact with Microsoft or Internet Service Providers specific to this matter. Spamhaus which is an active and valued member of the Anti Spam Working Group, is an industry-led initiative and does not receive funding from DTI. DTI advises members of the public who wish to complain about spam to contact the Information Commissioner who is responsible for the enforcement of the Regulations. A breach of an enforcement notice is a criminal offence subject to a fine of up to 5000 in a magistrate's court.Our response to the problem of spam is developing. I have taken careful note of the views of the Information Commissioner's Office on the powers available to him, and Government is actively considering whether to revise the relevant legislation. I shall shortly meet the Information Commissioner to discuss this, while DTI officials will continue a dialogue with Internet Service Providers regarding steps that can be taken to reduce spam. We will also continue our efforts to achieve greater international co-operation.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

443 c992-3W;443 c992-3W; 52419

Session

2005-06

Subjects

Complaints Department of Trade and Industry Email Unsolicited goods and services

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk