European Commission Takes Tough Stance on Spam

• By The WHIR, September 18, 2003

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European Commission Takes Tough Stance on Spam Adam Eisner, theWHIR.com

September 18, 2003 -- (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) -- Spam will be officially banned in many areas of Europe next month as part of incoming legislation on electronic communications.

As of October 31, both SMS and e-mail marketing in all EC member states will only be allowed with the prior consent of message recipients. The regulations are part of a new directive concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector.

Spam has become a serious issue to the Commission in recent years, and "recent growth is more worrying," said Erkii Liikanen, the EC Commissioner for Enterprise and Information Society, at a briefing earlier this summer on the issue.

Once implemented, however, one of the largest difficulties will lie in enforcing the anti-spam measures in each and every member state. "Member states will have to make enforcement of the opt-in a priority," Liikanen said. He also pointed out that because of the stealthy nature of spammers, international co-operation could be required to prosecute them, but said "every country must do its part of the job and clean up its own house."

This directive could mean several things for Europe's Web hosting firms and service providers. Aside from the obvious - discouraging spam - the EC wants users to become more discretionary in the way they handle their personal information, such as their e-mail addresses, and to know what forms of e-mail marketing are acceptable and which are not.

"[Users] must be aware of the basic rules applicable to unsolicited commercial e-mails, and they should be able to identify acceptable marketing practices," Liikanen said. Since many hosts in bundle email, access and more with their services, they are often the first line of defence for preventing spam. These companies have many prime opportunities to leverage their existing relationships with customers to warn about the perils of spam.

Providing users with the requisite information required to prevent spam can also establish an additional layer of trust between the customer and vendor, something which is eroded when a user receives spam - particularly e-mails related to illegal content or activity, according to the European Internet Service Providers Association (euroISPA.org). By establishing a hard-line Acceptable Use Policy and escalation process for problems, providers will only further solidify the trust between themselves and their clients, which is obviously good for business.

Liikanen also said users should know how to prevent spam and what technologies are available to help in this regard. Web hosting firms are increasingly making use of anti-spam technology, and users should be taught in an up-front manner how to use it and why they should do so.

According to EuroISPA, spam creates several problems for service providers that are often underestimated, and that could therefore cause more problems for Web hosting firms and others in the future - problems that a provider's users should certainly be made aware of. These include technical problems resulting from large numbers of "bounce back" messages, the increase in technical support staff required to handle spam-related queries and complaints, and lost business because of the fact that customers will sometimes flee addresses that have become unusable due to spam.

It is often said there is no "silver bullet" that will solve the issue of spam, and that it will require serious effort from consumers, companies and governments alike. By taking steps to ensure that users are aware of the dangers of spam, service providers will be one step closer to eliminating one of their costliest burdens.

Tags:  government  Europe  spam  Directi  Iona 

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