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'Spammers' should be jailed says Euro MP
September 6, 2003 12:00 AM
Local Euro MP Diana Wallis says the UK should take a lead from Italy and jail senders of unsolicited junk e-mails. In Italy these 'spammers' will now face jail sentences of up to three years.
The country's privacy watchdog issued the ruling in an attempt to limit the huge amount of advertising and promotional material sent online. The European Commission says that between one-third and 50% of all e-mails sent or received are now junk or spam. Sending e-mails without the permission of the receiver is against the law in Italy.
Diana Wallis MEP who speaks on Internet issues for the Liberal Democrat group in the European Parliament said in Strasbourg, "Estimates by the European Commission are that spam e-mails cost EU companies approximately 2.25bn euros (about £1.8bn) in lost productivity last year."
"Offenders in Italy now risk fines of up to 90,000 euros and between six months and three years in prison, if it is proved that they did it to make a profit."
Diana Wallis MEP said this sort of punishment may look harsh but perhaps it is what is needed to stop what can often be an extremely unpleasant and offensive practice. Ms. Wallis went on to say "EU legislation banning unwanted e-mail is due to come into force on 31 October, and even given the global nature of the internet, where 'spam' may come from countries outside the EU, such as the USA and China, this is a positive start."
The EU legislation leaves it to each member state how to enforce the legislation, as long as the enforcement is "effective".
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