Written question asked by Baroness Teather (Liberal Democrat) on Tuesday, 20 July 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 1 September 2004. It was answered by Stephen Timms (Labour) on Wednesday, 1 September 2004 on behalf of the Department of Trade and Industry.

Dept of Trade and Industry

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if the Government will introduce an e-mail preference service; and if she will make a statement.

Answer: Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if the Government will introduce an e-mail preference service; and if she will make a statement. [186240] Mr. Timms: The Government introduced the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations in December 2003, which cover, among other things, the regulation of unsolicited commercial e-mails. The Government have no plans to introduce an e-mail preference service. The Government have not ruled out extending the "opt-in" right to corporate subscribers. However, as the regulations have only been in force for seven months, it is too early to assess how the new provisions are working in practice, and what areas, if any, might need to be reviewed.

Secondary information