The British government introduced legislation on Thursday that aims to protect Internet and mobile phone users from unsolicited commercial e-mail.

The new law, which is Britain's implementation of the EU Privacy and Electronics Communication Directive, comes into force on Dec. 11. The law makes it an offense for a U.K. company to send junk e-mail or text messages, unless the recipient is an existing customer or has given their permission to receive such material. Companies that flout the law could face a fine of roughly $8,136 (5,000 British pounds) for each breach.

However, the measure only covers personal e-mail. It will still be legal for a company to send unsolicited commercial messages to corporate e-mail addresses. Read Article >> Posted by: DTB at 8:36 AM  |  Permalink