EU to ban spam by October

By Matt Whipp

Posted on 16 Jul 2003 at 13:04

Member states of the EU are expected to have implemented Directives that will make unsolicited emails and SMS messages illegal on 31 October.

Erkki Liikanen European Commissioner for Enterprise and the Information Society, 'Combating spam has become a matter for us all and has become one of the most significant issues facing the Internet today. It is a fight over many fronts. The EU, Member States, industry and consumers all have a role to play in the fight against spam both at the national and international level. We must act before users of e-mails or SMS stop using the Internet or mobile services, or refrain from using it to the extent that they otherwise would.'

The EC reckons spam cost EU businesses in the region of €2.5bn for 2002 in terms of lost productivity and that by the end of the summer the percentage of email traffic that is spam will reach 50 per cent.

The new legislation will mean marketing via email or SMS will only be possible if the customer has explicitly given consent by opting in to receive such messages, although companies can make use of existing customer relationships already in place. Mr Liikanen said the EU would take a dim view of Member States that fail to legislate appropriately.

He also noted that spam is a global problem and that discussions between EU and US counterparts have given the problem a high priority.