| Author (Person) | Chapman, Peter |
|---|---|
| Series Title | European Voice |
| Series Details | Vol.10, No.12, 1.4.04 |
| Publication Date | 01/04/2004 |
| Content Type | News |
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By Peter Chapman Date: 01/04/04 THE European Commission has given eight member states until June to implement a new law designed to target the 'spammers' who inundate PC users with unwanted sales-pitches for goods and services from Viagra and septic tank cleaning to body-part enhancement. Member states should have transposed the directive - which also targets data privacy over networks - into national law by 31 October last year. But so far Belgium, Germany, Greece, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Finland have failed to do so. Sweden was sent a warning letter last November, but has since notified the Commission of its new spam law, said Peter Sandler, a spokesman for information society commissioner Erkki Liikanen. He said the Commission would take member states to the European Court of Justice if they fail to meet the two-month deadline. Despite the warning, industry critics complain that the law will have little effect on spiralling spam levels. Under the terms of the directive, firms must seek an 'opt-in' - or prior permission - from consumers before they can send them emails containing commercial information and offers. But critics say only reputable EU firms are likely to care about following the law - whereas the majority of spammers, based in the US or further afield, will carry on regardless. They contrast the situation in the EU with the US - where AOL, EarthLink, Microsoft and Yahoo! jointly announced lawsuits against hundreds of defendants under the American CAN-SPAM Act - seen as a far tougher weapon against spammers, even though the regime allows companies to legally target potential customers unless they opt out from receiving messages. That is because it makes many of the technical activities carried out by spammers a criminal offence, punishable by prison sentences. A Brussels-based regulatory affairs director for a US media giant told European Voice that his firm's lawyers could find little scope for a similar attack in the Union. The directive also applies to the processing of personal data in connection with the provision of public electronic communication networks and services. It forces governments to create strict rules for anyone involved in the forms of processing addressed by the directive. The Commission took the second step in infringement proceedings against eight Member States on 1 April 2004 for failing to notify it of measures transposing the Directive on Privacy and Electronic Communications (e-Privacy Directive) into their national laws. The Directive governs areas such as 'spam' e-mail and identifier 'cookies'. The second stage in infringement proceedings involves sending reasoned opinions to Belgium, Germany, Greece, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Finland. They now have two months in which to respond and could face action before the European Court of Justice if they fail to comply. |
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| Source Link | http://www.european-voice.com/ |
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| Subject Categories | Business and Industry, Internal Markets |
