EU launches anti-spam campaign

European Union governments should toughen sanctions against junk e-mails that now account for half of global Internet mail traffic, the EU Commission said in a policy document yesterday.

"Spam", unsolicited e-mails, is now evolving from a vehicle for pornography or bogus financial offers to more sophisticated operations including electronic "identity theft" where internet users' personal details are intercepted and used for fraud.

The EU tried to fight the problem by introducing a ban on unsolicited e-mails in 2002, but the EU law is weakly enforced and several countries have not yet introduced it at national level.

"Although legislation will deter some spam, legislation alone will not be sufficient," the Commission said in its action plan against spam, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters.

"Member states and competent authorities should... create adequate possibilities for victims to claim damages and provide for real sanctions, including financial and criminal penalties where appropriate," said the paper, to be unveiled next week.

Consumer groups have criticised EU member Britain for passing an anti-spam law that carries a maximum penalty of just £5,000 for spammers.

Experts say this is no deterrent. According to anti-spam group The Spamhaus Project, Britain joined Spamhaus's top ten list of spamming countries in December.

"This is a bargain for spammers. Some of them make £20,000 to £30,000 per week," Steve Linford, founder of the Spamhaus Project told Reuters recently.

In the United States, Internet giant America Online was awarded almost seven million dollars in damages in a spam case.