Brussels, 09/10/2009 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission today has urged EU countries to do more to tackle online privacy threats to the public. A Commission-funded study found that, although in recent years several EU countries have taken some measures to enforce the ban on spam, including fines for spammers, the number of prosecuted cases and sanctions imposed on lawbreakers vary considerably. The study confirms the need for the legislative improvements proposed under the reform of the EU's Telecoms rules. “Several EU countries are doing more to enforce online privacy rules. However, spam is an area where we can and must improve for the benefit of internet users in the EU. On average 65% of EU citizens are still affected by spam on a regular basis,” said EU Commissioner for Information Society and Media Viviane Reding.
The main findings of the study indicate that: 1) almost all EU countries now have one or more websites where citizens can find information or make a complaint if they become a victim of spam, spyware or malware; 2) an analysis of more than 140 enforcement cases from 22 member states shows considerable differences between the number of cases per country and the fines imposed/ the highest numbers of cases were reported in Spain (39), Slovakia (39) and Romania (20); the highest fines were imposed in the Netherlands (€1,000,000), Italy (€570,000) and Spain (€30,000); however, spammers in countries such as Romania, Ireland, and Latvia received modest fines ranging from hundreds to several thousand euro; 3) public authorities must have clear responsibilities and cooperation procedures if they are to tackle spam effectively, using a combination of prevention, enforcement and raising public awareness; the level of cooperation differs strongly between EU countries - cooperation agreements exist in Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Romania and the UK, while Luxembourg and Malta, for example, rely on informal cooperation; 4) since spam is a global problem, more international cooperation, both within the EU and worldwide, is necessary; 5) EU countries should allocate sufficient resources to national authorities in order to gather evidence, pursue investigations and mount prosecutions.
The reform of EU telecoms rules proposed by the Commission would provide conditions for a better enforcement of privacy rules, providing for clearer and more consistent rules, dissuasive sanctions for spammers, better cross-border cooperation and provision of sufficient resources to allow national enforcement authorities to do their job. It will also be tackling spam to be included in the EU-USA agreement currently being negotiated. This agreement will bring cross-border cooperation in the enforcement of consumer protection laws, with industry figures showing that 1 in 6 spam e-mails are sent from the US. (I.L./transl.rt)