EU bids to strengthen anti-spam procedures

By Matt Whipp

Posted on 7 Feb 2005 at 17:57

The EU has announced a cooperative venture to cut through cross border red tape when tracking down spammers.

Members of the contact network of spam enforcement authorities (CNSA) have drawn up a voluntary agreement that will mean they share data and follow up complaints from anywhere in the EU. Members agree to use 'best efforts' to handle complaints forwarded to them by other countries, which will make it easier to identify and track down spammers across the EU.

Information Society and Media Commissioner Viviane Reding, said: 'Enforcement authorities in Member States must be able to deal effectively with spam from other EU countries, even though at present most spam originates from outside the EU. In parallel, we are working on cooperation with third countries both bilaterally and in international fora like the OECD and the International Telecommunication Union.'

Although the effects on spam levels is admittedly limited, such agreement is essential to make the EU unattractive for spammers. Many countries are now implementing anti-spam legislation, driving spammers to operate out of places with no such policy. So cutting down their options can only be a good thing.

More importantly, such agreement could be vital in combating phishing scams. Many of these are operated by gangs in Eastern Europe and Russia - countries that have recently joined the EU and would be subject to EU-wide ventures.

Thirteen countries have signed up to the agreement, the notable absentees being Germany and the UK. We contacted the DTI but have yet to receive a response to our requests for comment.