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Anti-Spam Regulatory Approaches
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Country laws |
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.: Australia
The act came into effect on 10 April 2004. Under the new law it is illegal to send, or cause to be sent, ’unsolicited commercial electronic messages’ that have an Australian link. The Australian Communications Authority is the Commonwealth Government body that enforces the Spam Act (source).
Part V (civil) and Part VC (criminal) may apply to spam with misleading or deceptive content. .: Austria
The law prohibits the sending of unsolicited communications including phone calls, electronic mail and SMS messages.
.: Belgium
This was the first spam-specific law to be enacted in the European Union. It forbids the sending of spam without prior consent of the addressee, or unless that person has specifically chosen an "opt-in" system. It affects databases built after the law came into effect on 27 March 2003, but also those created before. At the time the law was passed, direct marketers were concerned with the problem of how to collect notices of consent from all the persons they had listed prior to that date.
A law concerning privacy protection, including the protection of personal data.
.: Canada
Specific anti-spam lawOn May 17, 2005, Canada’s Task Force on Spam issued a final report entitled Stopping Spam: Creating a Stronger, Safer Internet. The report includes a range of recommendations including more rigourous law enforcement, public education, policy development and legislation. Although the Task Force Report recommended to adopt specific anti-spam legislation, this has yet to bear fruit in the form of an actual law.
Other laws applicable to spamPersonal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) This Act covers online privacy in detail and contains many provisions relevant to email marketing Competition Act Criminal Code of Canada .: China
On 20 February 2006 the Chinese Ministry of Information Industry (MII) of P. R. China adopted the “Regulations on Internet E-Mail Services”, which took effect on 30 March 2006. The legislation aims to regulate Internet email services and to protect end-users. According to the regulations, one should not send commercial emails without prior consent from the recipients, which means “opt-in” principle is adopted. Even having prior consent from the recipients, one should add the label “AD”, which is the abbreviation for “Advertisement”, in front of the subject line of a commercial email. The sender of commercial email should also provide valid contact information for the recipients to unsubscribe. It’s prohibited to get others’ email addresses by harvesting, sell or share harvested addresses. Breaches of the regulation will be punished by the MII. The MII can send a simple warning to the sender, or apply a fine. In addition, online fraudulent activities and misuse of computer resources, such as spreading viruses, are considered criminal violations according to other Chinese laws, and can be punished with more severe penalties, such as detention. Differently from other national anti-spam laws, the Chinese regulation does not only regulate the sending of email messages, but also regulate the providing of email services. For example, email service providers are asked to strengthen the protection of their email servers to avoid their fraudulent utilization by spammers. Also, to make it easier to find the evidence of spamming, ESPs are asked to log the email related behavior of their users. ESPs are also asked to accept users’ complaint reporting. Users who received spam are also encouraged to report to the Spam Reporting Center run by Internet Society of China accredited by MII. An article summarising the main elements of the Chinese anti-spam law was prepared by the Internet Society of China, and it is available in English and Chinese.
.: Czech Republic
Act on certain information society services and on the amendment to certain other acts. the liability and rights and obligations of persons providing information society services and disseminating commercial communications. Section 7 prohibits the sending of unsolicited commercial communications via electronic means.
None to date. .: Denmark
Section 6 stipulates that “A trader may not approach anyone by means of electronic mail, an automated calling system or facsimile machine with a view to the sale of goods, real property, other property, labour and services unless the party concerned has requested him to do so.”
None to date. .: Finland
.: France
Article 22 of this law prohibits the sending of e-mail without specific prior consent from the addressee. Databases of legally collected details (i.e. those obtained directly from the addressee at some point in the past) may be used to send promotional materials, but in all cases a clear option to cease all further correspondence must be provided. .: Germany
German law on unfair competition.
.: Greece
Draft law implementing Art.13 of the EU Directive below.
.: Hungary
Amended in 2003.
None to date. .: Ireland To be completed... .: Italy
As amended by Legislative Decree no. 196 of 30 June 2003.
None to date. .: Japan
This law addresses prohibits the sending of unsolicited commercial e-mails to individuals. It was passed in April 2002.
.: Korea
None to date.
.: Luxembourg
None to date.
Concerns the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector. .: Malaysia
None to date.
Provisions on improper use of network facilities or network services etc. .: Mexico
None to date. Mexico doesn’t have a specific law aimed directly to regulate or to penalize spam. However, if spamming activities fall within the scope of telecommunications laws and regulations, administrative sanctions (fines) may be imposed. Recurring activities can lead to the revoking of concessions and permits. (Art.71:Federal Telecommunications Law).
The amendments made by the Mexican Congress to the FCPL, in force since May 2004, included provisions regarding the protection of consumers from receiving unsolicited commercial mail messages (articles 17, 18 and 18 bis). Those in breach of these dispositions face sanctions (fines from $30 American dollars up to almost $100,000 American dollars) and even administrative imprisonment for up to 36 hours. Extracts in English language Unofficial translation Article 17.- The commercial messages or advertising sent to the consumers, should indicate the name, address, telephone and, where applicable, the e-mail address of the provider, and of the business that sends the ads on behalf of providers. The consumer will be entitled to urge directly to specific providers and businesses using its information for marketing or advertising purposes, not to be bothered at its home, job, e-mail address or any other mean for offering goods and services, and the consumer could notify that he or she does not want to receive ads. Likewise, the consumer will be entitled to urge, at every moment, to providers or businesses using its information for marketing or advertising purposes, that its personal data must not be transmitted or shared with third parties, unless that transmission is determined by a judicial authority. Article 18.- The Procuraduría could develop, where applicable, a consumers’ public registry not wishing its personal data to be used for marketing or advertising purposes. The consumers could notify to the Procuraduría in written or by email its inscription request to this registry, which will be at no cost. Article 18 bis.- It is forbidden for providers and businesses using consumers’ information for marketing or advertising purposes, and to its clients, to use that consumers’ information with different purposes to those of marketing or advertising, as well as to send ads to the consumers that expressly have demanded not to receive it or that are subscribed to the registry referred in the previous article. Providers that are object of advertising are also responsible of the managing of the consumers’ information when such advertising is sent through third parties. .: Netherlands
Article 11.7 applies specifically to spam.
.: New Zealand
None to date. In 2003, Privacy Commissioner B H Slane publicly called for a New Zealand anti-spam law. Specific legislation is currently in preparation.
Fair Trading Act The Fair Trading Act was developed with the Commerce Act to encourage competition and to protect consumers from misleading and deceptive conduct and unfair trading practices. The Act applies to all aspects of the promotion and sale of goods and services - from advertising and pricing to sales techniques and finance agreements (source) Privacy Act The Privacy Act 1993 came into force on 1 July 1993. It was preceded by the Privacy Commissioner Act 1991 which established the office of Privacy Commissioner and legal requirements for information matching (source) Films, Videos And Publications Classification Act .: Norway
Act No. 47 of 16 June 1972 relating to the Control of Marketing and Contract Terms and Conditions.
.: Poland
Law of 18 July 2002 on providing services through electronic means (Official Journal No144, Item 1204 of 9 Sept 2002) Law of 16 April 1993 on combating unfair competition (Official Journal No 47, Item 211 as amended) Act of 16 July 2004 Telecommunications Law (Official Journal No 171, Item 1800 of 3 August 2004)
None to date. .: Portugal
Article 22 of Decree-Law No. 7/2004, of 7 January Law which transposes Directive 2000/31/EC (Directive on electronic commerce) of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2000.
None to date. .: Slovak Republic To be completed... .: Spain
This law provides a framework for regulating information society and electronic commerce services. It was amended in the General Telecommunications Act 32/2003 of 3 November and Act 59/2003 of 19 December on electronic signatures.
This law relates to the protection of personal data. .: Sweden
Swedish Marketing Act Under section 13b of the Act, a business may use e-mail to contact an individual, provided that person has consented to it. If that business has obtained a customer’s details as a result of a legitimate commercial transaction with that person, then consent might not be necessary, depending on the circumstances.
Swedish Personal Data Act The Act appears in the Swedish Code of Statutes, SFS 1998:204. It is based on Directive 95/46/EC which aims to prevent the violation of personal integrity in the processing of personal data (source). Criminal law May be applied in cases of fraud, computer crime and child pornography. .: Switzerland
The 2003 amendment to this law specifies that telecommunications providers must combat bulk advertising (Article 45a). It also stipulates the addition of Article 3 letter o to the Law against Unfair Competition requiring that bulk advertisers adopt an “opt-in” approach for their services.
.: Turkey
None to date. A specific spam law has been expected since 2003, when the law on data protection was passed. Since then the Turkish Ministry of Justice has been working on new legislation without success. Nonetheless, it is expected to come into fruition soon.
The law stipulates, among other things, that individuals be informed about data collection and consent be provided. Furthermore, data must be processed in line with the declared collection purpose. The text also announces the creation of a supervisory authority called the Institution of Protection of Personal Data. .: United Kingdom
This law came into effect on 11 December 2003 in response to the European Commission’s "Privacy and Electronic Communications" directive. It concerns the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector (source). .: United States
CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 CAN-SPAM is an acronym for “Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing”. The Act sets guidelines for those who send commercial email and gives consumers the right to ask companies to stop soliciting them. It also details penalties to be enforced against those in violation of the law.
Federal Trade Commission Act Act which, as well as creating the FTC itself, empowers it to prevent unfair competition, including “unfair and deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce”.  |
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Specific spam law: Spam Act 2003