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New UK Law Ineffective in Fighting Spam
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By Karen Snider, theWHIR.com
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From Web Hosting Monthly, February 2004 edition
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February 12, 2004 — (WEB HOST INDUSTRY
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REVIEW) — The government body enforcing the UK’s new anti-spam law is
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lobbying for more power to put spammers immediately out of business.
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The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) (informationcommissioner.co.uk)
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wants “stop-now” powers because, as the law currently stands, it could
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take longer than one year to stop spammers – a process officials say is
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unacceptable for everyone.
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“We don’t think the powers we have are
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strong enough, so we can’t take action as quickly as we’d like,” says
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Elizabeth Dunn, compliance manager for the UK’s Information
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Commissioner’s Office.
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The ICO is lobbying the UK’s Department
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of Trade and Industry, which drafted the legislation, for the
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“stop-now” powers. “It would up the ante a lot earlier. It would stop
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what they (the spammers) are doing and make them explain why they
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should get it back,” Dunn said.
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Under the current legislation, it can
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take a year to make spammers stop because they can appeal the ICO in
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court. The process starts when a spam complaint is made and the ICO
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investigates, sending the spammer a “preliminary notice.”
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This gives the spammer the chance to
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explain or fix whatever technical problem may have caused the offense,
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in case it was accidental. If the problem persists, the ICO will issue
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an official notice indicating its plan to take enforcement action.
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At this point, the spammer can launch an
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appeal in court – a process that could take a year to resolve, during
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which time the offender can continue spamming. If the court dismisses
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the appeal and the spammer continues to breach the ICO notice, then
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they could be fined up to £ 5,000 in a magistrate court or unlimited
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fines in a jury trial.
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“It’s a long drawn-out process,” Dunn says. “We felt that was proof we need stronger powers to take action.”
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One anti-spam technology company says
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these delays in enforcement encourage spammers to set up in the UK. A
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recent report by Spamhaus shows that over the last several months, the
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UK has become one of the worst countries for junk mail production
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because of loopholes in the legislation.
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Prior to the new law, most spam was
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blamed on culprits based in the US. However, under the legislation, the
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ICO is only allowed to pursue spammers based in the UK – another point
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of the legislation criticized by industry leaders.
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“The reality is, and the government has
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since admitted, the legislation will not impact the problem,” says
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Martino Corbelli, marketing director of SurfControl (surfcontrol.com), a Web and email filtering company based in the UK. “It’s a global issue which therefore requires a global solution.”
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Dunn said the ICO recognizes this problem
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and, in the meantime, is appealing to members of the Internet community
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to do their part by getting ISPs and companies to put appropriate
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filters in place.
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The ICO won’t confirm how many complaints
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it has received since the law took effect, but Dunn said the number is
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in the hundreds. She said the organization was expecting the increase
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in complaints it receives and was well prepared for the task.
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Typical complaints are from members of
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the general public, concerned about their residential email addresses.
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Their complaints have varied from those about the quantity of spam, to
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its content or specific companies. Sometimes, she says, complaints are
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made about legitimate companies that are still working to comply with
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the law.
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The UK’s anti-spam took effect December
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13. It is based on an EC directive on privacy and electronic
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communications that obliges member states to introduce their own
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anti-spam laws.
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The deadline for the introduction of
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these laws was October, but only the UK and five other EU countries
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have so far implemented regulations.
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Email users who wish to file complaints against spammers can do so at the ICO site.
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