Spam

2004

New EC laws come into force today which make it an offence to send unsolicited e-mails or "spam" to individuals - but a Tayside legal expert is warning the new regulations do little to protect businesses from the daily flood of ads for porn sites, drugs and dating services.

Hester Middleton, a senior solicitor in the innovation and technology dept of legal firm Thorntons Law LLP, says the EC has missed a golden opportunity to clampdown on a menace that spawns over 25 billion unwanted e-mail messages every day.

It's now estimated we spend a week of working lives deleting spam and unwanted e-mail messages.

"I think the EC has passed up a good chance to take action to assist businesses hampered by the receipt of spam," she said.

"In general, most businesses are content to receive industry information or marketing material from their business contacts and it is a pity that the legislation could not have recognised this while giving them more protection from unwanted spam. There appears to be a perception that businesses are less vulnerable than individuals and are better placed to deal with direct marketing communications.

"In fact, the new regulations could almost give the green light to spammers to target business even more.

"It's one of the main criticisms of the legislation. It seems to be saying it's OK to spam businesses, but not individuals.

"It's hard to quantify the damage caused to businesses by spam, but for companies that don't have software to block it or who can't afford to regularly change their e-mail addresses, it's going to be an increasing problem.

"It's estimated that about one-third of all e-mail traffic is now accounted for by unwanted spam."

The new regs threaten hefty fines for companies or organisations ignoring the new restrictions. They will be enforced by the Information Commissioner and also open the door for the potential of civil actions by individuals against persistent spammers.

The new regs will also apply to unsolicited fax and SMS text messages.