Europe gets anti-spam law
2003-11-03 11:43
Belgium - European Union digital privacy rules came into force on Friday requiring companies to get consent before sending e-mail, tracking personal data on websites or pinpointing callers' locations via satellite-linked cellphones.
The law steps up the global war on spam, which makes up for half of all e-mail traffic and costs Europe 2.5 billion in lost productivity, according to the European Commission.
"The (law) is a key tool to strengthen consumer confidence in the internet and electronic communications, which is a prerequisite for the success of e-commerce," said EU Enterprise Commissioner Erkki Liikanen.
European officials hope to stem the tide of e-mails peddling pornography and get-rich-quick schemes while still allowing marketers to send electronic ads to customers who "opt-in" for them.
However, the rules leaves it up to the 15 EU nations to decide how to enforce the new regulations, which stop short of describing how to wade through global internet traffic to root out and punish wrongdoers who often hide behind fake return addresses.
Protect privacy
Most spam comes from the United States, where Congress is juggling several bills to fight it and several states have adopted laws to fine and jail senders of junk e-mail.
But unlike the United States, which has shied from adopting national privacy rules since the 1970s, Europe continues to enforce measures protecting people's right to be left alone.
The new rules also limit companies' ability to use "cookie" files and other devices that let them obtain information about users who visit their websites. Companies will now be required to ask users' permission before taking such data and retaining or selling it.
"Spyware" that burrows invisibly into computer hard drives and snoops on users also becomes illegal.
Europe will allow only police and emergency services to locate people from their satellite-linked cellphones.
"The directive is technology neutral and gives consumer and citizens a variety of tools to protect their privacy and personal data," the Commission said in a statement.
- AP