§ 32. Ms MoranTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures he intends to take to tackle the costs to business of unsolicited e-mail known as spam. [71630]
§ Mr. WillsThe Government are aware that unsolicited email is a potentially difficult area for business. There are several industry initiatives aimed at tackling this problem. Most Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have installed systems aimed at combating unsolicited email, and the London Internet Exchange (LINX) is producing a set of best practice guidelines for ISPs on this subject. In addition the Direct Marketing Association is working on an email preference scheme, to operate in a similar way to the conventional mail preference service but with global rather than national coverage. Such initiatives will be aided by the draft Electronic Commerce Directive which would require all unsolicited commercial communications by email to be indicated as such. The376W Government will monitor the effectiveness of these approaches and consider whether any further action is required in the light of their impact on the problem.