European authorities are considering new legislation to make it easier to prosecute spammers, who are sending out unsolicited e-mails at a cost to economies of billions of pounds a year.

A report published yesterday by the European Commission indicates that spam, much of it fraudulent and criminal, accounts for between 50 and 80 per cent of all e-mails, at a worldwide cost of €39 billion (£26 billion). For the UK alone, the figure is put at € 1.9 billion.

The United States is the main source of spam, accounting for just over a fifth of all rogue messages, followed by China. Even in the European Union, which passed legislation four years ago banning spam, fraudsters are active, particularly in France, Spain, Poland, Italy and Germany.

The report emphasises that the spread of spam, malicious software and spyware, which tracks and reports on a user’s online activities, is undermining confidence in the internet and electronic mail. “Over the EU as a whole, there is insufficient action to address this development,” it says.

The Commission is calling on national governments and regulatory authorities to be more active in prosecuting illegal online messages. As an example, it points to the Netherlands, where a €570,000 investment in equipment helped Opta, the independent post and electronic communications regulator, to cut domestic spam by 85 per cent.

As the criminal and administrative aspects of spam become increasingly intertwined, the report underlines the need for greater co-operation between different technical and investigative agencies both within and between member states.

The Commission itself is preparing joint enforcement initiatives with the United States and pointed to a recent combined Dutch-Australian investigation that succeeded in ending a large spam operation. It is also preparing to table proposals in the first half of next year to strengthen existing user privacy and security provisions. Officials are debating whether these should contain specific penalties and clarify procedures for suing spammers.

Spam sources

US 21.6%
China 13.4%
France 6.3%
South Korea 6.3%
Spain 5.8%
Poland 4.8%
Brazil 4.7%
Italy 4.3%
Germany 3.0%
Taiwan 2.0%
Israel 1.8%
Japan 1.7%
Others 24.3%

Source: European Commission

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