§ Mr. DhandaTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to introduce legislation in the United Kingdom to reduce the number of unsolicited e-mails. [119108]
§ Mr. TimmsThere will be new controls on the use of unsolicited commercial e-mail under the UK's implementing regulations for the Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive (Directive 2002/58/EC). The new rules, to come into force this year, will require that unsolicited e-mails may only be sent for the purposes of direct marketing to individuals with their prior consent, except where there is an existing customer relationship between the sender and the addressee.
Consultation on draft regulations started on 27 March this year, closing on 19 June, and details are available in the Libraries of the House or on the DTI website at the following UR L:
www.dti.gov.uk/industries/ecommunications/ directive_on_privacy_electronic_communications_200258ec.html.
Each member state of the European Union is required to implement the Directive.