Attempts to combat spam will be hampered if the US fails
to introduce an outright ban, a senior European Commission official
said yesterday.
A law banning unsolicited e-mail messages comes into force in
the 15-member European Union this autumn. The law prohibits e-mail
marketers in the EU from sending their promotions to individuals
unless those targeted have expressly asked to receive
promotions.
The US government appears to favour an opt-out approach, whereby
marketers can sell their wares to anyone by e-mail unless the
person targeted asks to be removed from their list.
Yesterday, the commission sought to promote international
co-operation and to raise public awareness of how individuals can
help in tracking down spammers.
By the end of the third quarter, spam will account for more half
of all e-mail traffic in the EU and globally, the commission said.
One third of all spam is believed to originate from the US. French
and Belgian data protection officials estimate that around 85% of
all spam in their countries is in English.
Convicted spammers are known to hop from one jurisdiction to
another to continue their activities, said Erkki Liikanen,
commissioner for enterprise and the information society.
However, co-operation with the US. "would be restricted if we
end up with an opt-out system in the US", said Philippe Gerard, an
official in Liikanen's department.
"The US authorities appear to be focusing only on spam that is
deceptive or worse. We, on the other hand, believe that even the
harmless spam messages are a serious problem too, because of the
enormous volume of them."
The commission estimated that the loss in productivity because
of spam cost EU businesses around €2.5bn in 2002. Lost
productivity includes the value of the time wasted by recipients
clearing out spam from their inboxes and the loss of performance
from PCs clogged up with spam.
"If there was any co-operation with the US, it would only be in
areas where we both agree action is needed," Gerard said. The
deluge of harmless but annoying spam messages would not, therefore,
become a common enemy, he added.
Liikanen refrained from criticising the US's approach to
combating spam. "The US Federal Trade Commission is looking for a
solution," he said, but he added that he remained "sceptical" about
an opt-out approach. "It will always be less efficient than an
opt-in rule."
Data Protection Commission president Stefano Rodota said that
even if the US does choose the opt-out route, US businesses will go
further to stamp out spam.
"A big part of the business community in the US is moving
towards opt-in because firms such as Procter & Gamble view spam
as a threat to their abilities to sell their products over the
net," he said.
Europe's ISPs welcomed the commission's latest efforts to fight
spam. "The new rules are a crucial tool in the battle of ISPs to
limit the damage caused by this incessant and ever-changing
problem, both to themselves and to their customers," trade
association EuroISPA said.
Paul Meller writes for IDG News Service