[FYI] Commissioner Liikanen calls for more international cooperation to combat 'spam'

["Axel H Horns" <axel.h.horns@gmx.net>]

<http://europa.eu.int/rapid/start/cgi/guesten.ksh?p_action.gettxt=gt&; 
doc=IP/04/136|0|RAPID&lg=EN&display=>  


    DN: IP/04/136     Date: 02/02/2004

    TXT: FR EN DE
    PDF: FR EN DE
    DOC: FR EN DE

    IP/04/136

    Brussels, 2nd February 2004

Commissioner Liikanen calls for more international cooperation to 
combat 'spam'  

Enterprise and Information Society Commissioner Erkki Liikanen today 
called for global cooperation against 'spam' at a two-day OECD 
workshop in Brussels. Building on efforts by many countries to combat 
'spam', the OECD should rapidly agree a five-point framework to 
promote effective legislation against spam, cooperation between 
enforcement agencies, self-regulation by industry, technical 
solutions, and greater consumer awareness.  

"Spam is a global problem that requires global action", Erkki 
Liikanen said. "If we want to combat spam effectively, efforts made 
in the European Union and other regions of the world must be echoed 
by similar efforts at the international level, not only by 
governments but also businesses and consumers".  

Unsolicited commercial communications by e-mail, otherwise known as 
'spam', have reached worrying proportions. More than 50 percent of EU 
e-mail traffic was estimated to be spam in December 2003(1). Global 
estimates are even more worrying.  

Spam is a problem for many reasons: invasion of privacy, deception of 
consumers, and potential harm to minors. It also causes extra costs 
for businesses, lost productivity, etc. More generally, it undermines 
consumer confidence, which is a prerequisite for the success of e-
commerce and, indeed, for the Information Society.  

The EU has reacted by agreeing a 'ban on spam' in 2002. EU Member 
States had until the end of October 2003 to adapt national laws 
accordingly. In January 2004, the Commission presented a 
Communication identifying a series of actions to complement these 
rules and make the 'ban on spam' as effective as possible. 
International cooperation is a key component of this policy, since 
most spam comes from outside the country where it is received.  

At the UN level, the World Summit on the Information Society recently 
recognised that spam should be dealt with at appropriate national and 
international levels (Geneva, 10-12 December 2003).  

At OECD level, the Commission offered to host today's workshop to 
generate a better understanding of spam among all OECD member 
countries and build consensus on the next steps to be taken.  

According to Commissioner Liikanen, an OECD framework should aim to 
promote:  

          An effective 'anti-spam' law in all countries;

          Cross-border cooperation on enforcement in specific cases;

          Self-regulatory solutions by market players e.g. on 
contractual and marketing practices;

          Technical solutions to manage or reduce spam, like 
filtering and other security features;

Greater consumer awareness about, e.g., how to minimise spam and how 
to react to spam and complain.  

    Background information

Background information on the OECD workshop on spam, as well as the 
Commission Communication on unsolicited commercial communication or 
'spam' is available via:  

    
http://europa.eu.int/information_society/topics/ecomm/highlights/curre
nt_spotlights/spam/index_en.htm

(1) Source: Brightmail, 2004. 



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