On 15 July the European Commission announced in Brussels its programmes to curb the proliferation of unsolicited commercial messages sent by e-mail, the so-called “spamming” phenomenon. Following the adoption last year of the directive on the protection of privacy in the sector of electronic communication, member states are obliged to introduce antispamming provisions in their national legislations by October 2003. The Commission expects a communication on spamming to be approved in the autumn. The specific steps being taken will focus on the effective application of the law, in particular through international cooperation, antispamming technical measures and the sensitisation of consumers. The proliferation of unsolicited commercial e-mails has reached levels such as to represent a serious obstacle for the development of electronic commerce and the information society. The loss of productivity of Eu businesses due to spamming is estimated at 2.5 billion euros for 2002. It is estimated that, by the end of this summer, spamming will represent over 50% of the world traffic of electronic post.
