A global approach is needed to prevent the internet grinding to
a halt, say MPs
Legislators on both sides of the Atlantic are facing increasing
pressure to step up their efforts to clamp down on spam, with
critics saying existing measures do not to enough to address the
growing problem of unsolicited e-mails bombarding companies.
A delegation of UK MPs is due to arrive in Washington DC this week
in the hope of persuading US lawmakers to take a tougher approach
to spam, which accounts for about 55% of all e-mail traffic and
costs global businesses an estimated $10bn (£6bn) a year in lost
productivity.
There are various technical steps that companies can take to combat
spam, such as using filtering software and locking down e-mail
gateways, but these will never stop all unsolicited e-mails, the
technology companies admit.
E-envoy Andrew Pinder will join members of the All-party
Parliamentary Internet Group (APIG) for meetings with senators and
other lawmakers in the US to press the case for an "opt-in"
approach, as adopted by the European Union, which prohibits
marketers from sending e-mail promotions to individuals without
obtaining their prior consent.
Lawmakers in the US have expressed a preference for the "opt-out"
method where the onus is put on individual users to let companies
know that they do not wish to receive spam.
MP Derek Wyatt, chairman of the APIG, said a joined-up approach is
key to beating the spammers. "As 90% of all spamming e-mails
originate in the US, we must try to persuade our political
colleagues in Washington that their opt-out system might just
ensure that the internet becomes blocked forever, which will push
up costs and act as a major disincentive to use," he said.
Last week, in the report on its three-month inquiry into spam, the
APIG urged the US and Australian governments to adopt anti-spam
legislation aligned with the European Directive on Privacy and
Electronic Communications.
It called on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD) - which has organised a World Spam Summit for
October 2004 - to push for consistent anti-spam legislation on a
global basis.
"If Europe and the US were to have consistent laws, there would be
considerable pressure on other parts of the world to fall in to
line," the report said.
However, Rex Parry, head of IT and e-commerce at law firm
Eversheds, said consistency in global legislation is
unlikely.
"Just as certain countries are tax havens, I do not believe that
all the countries in the world will adopt the same legislation," he
said. "Unless you stop people in all countries from sending the
stuff, you are always going to get spam."
Addressing spam on a global level is vital, but the UK government
also needs to step up its efforts to stem the tide of spam flooding
both businesses and consumers in this country, the MPs
warned.
Last month, the Department of Trade & Industry outlined a new
directive under which companies and individuals could be fined up
to £5,000 for sending unsolicited commercial e-mail and text
messages to private individuals without prior agreement.
However, the APIG called on the DTI to extend the ban on sending
unsolicited e-mails - which will come into effect on 11 December -
to business addresses.
"We believe that the DTI has made a very serious mistake in not
prohibiting unsolicited business-to-business e-mail," the report
said. "When the DTI changes the rules on business-to-business 'cold
calling' they should take the opportunity to explicitly ban the
sending of spam to business addresses."
The APIG recommendation echoes widespread criticism of the DTI
legislation from industry groups such as the Spamhaus Project,
which branded the law "toothless".
"Britain's much anticipated anti-spam law has been rendered
toothless and will now do very little, if anything, to stop spam in
the UK," the anti-spam organisation said last month. "Instead it
will create more confusion and misery for British businesses, with
spammers insisting that spamming anything that sounds like a
business address is legal."
The information commissioner, who is overseeing the DTI's anti-spam
legislation, needs tougher and more flexible powers to clamp down
on spam, the APIG said.
"We recommend that the DTI urgently review the ability of the
information commissioner to police the new regulations on the
sending of spam and provide appropriate powers to deal with what
will inevitably be rapidly changing situations," the report
said.
The DTI should also show its "full and formal support" for properly
operated blocklists - databases of known sources of spam - the APIG
said. The committee said the government should financially support
"those blocklists that meet the highest standards and hence those
that they would wish to see used by the public sector".
With spam already costing UK businesses £3.2bn a year in lost
productivity, it is clear that the government, which has said it
wants the UK to be the best place to do e-commerce in the world,
needs to step up its legislative efforts to address the
issue.
The APIG believes its report's recommendations will help
governments both in the UK and abroad to clamp down on spam, but
companies will be watching closely to see to what extent the advice
is acted on.
APIG Report: key reaction
Matt Sergeant, senior anti-spam technologist,
MessageLabs
"Without a strong legal position on spam the
problem will continue to grow and will keep costing UK businesses
billions of pounds every year."
Richard Allan, joint vice-chairman, All-party Parliamentary
Internet Group
"If all the report's recommendations were implemented, then our
constituents could expect to see a significant reduction in the
amount of spam they receive."
Rex Parry, head of IT and e-commerce law,
Eversheds
"There are some sensible suggestions, like including business
e-mail in legislation as spam at work is just as, if not more,
frustrating than at home. I do not believe that all countries in
the world will adopt the same legislation."
Alyn Hockey, director of research, e-mail security company
Clearswift
"The findings certainly make plenty of recommendations, but until
serious measures are taken, the problem of spam will only worsen.
The World Spam Summit in October 2004 is a year too late - we need
action now."
Read the full report
www.apig.org.uk/spam_report.pdf