The European Commission is planning to issue a Communication this autumn calling for effective enforcement of the spam-ban, EU Commissioner Erkki Liikanen said during a press conference yesterday.
Action would focus on effective enforcement, notably through international cooperation, technical measures for countering spam, and consumer awareness. The proposed measures would be first tested with Member States and interested parties through a workshop to be convened in October.
Liikanen underlined the necessity for international cooperation both within the EU and with third countries. He referred to recent discussions with his US counterparts and proposal to host an OECD seminar on spam to be organized in Brussels in January 2004.
Under the new directive for privacy in the electronic communications sector (2002/58/EC) all Member States have to transpose a 'ban on spam' into national legislation by the end of October 2003. Results from a commission questionnaire about transposition plans (described in EDRI-gram nr. 11) showed a wide variety in approach. At that time, the Commission still seemed unwilling to take any further steps to harmonize enforcement.
SPAM: European Commission goes on the offensive (15.07.2003)
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