Internet Changes Everything

Regulators from 60 countries start to tackle growing tide of spam

Regulators from 60 countries start to tackle growing tide of spam

GENEVA (AFP) - Regulators from about 60 countries began a meeting at the UN's top telecommunications agency to try to stop the growing tide of unsolicited e-mails or "spam" that threaten to drive users and businesses off the Internet.

"It's a disease which has spread around the world. We have an epidemic on our hands which we need to control," said Robert Horton, the acting head of the Australian Communications Authority who is chairing the three-day meeting in Geneva.

Some studies indicate that spam now accounts for up to 75 or 85 percent of inbound electronic mail, according to the UN's International Telecommunciations Union (ITU).

"Clearly it's more irritable than it was even 12 months ago where it could have been 35 percent, and people might have tolerated it to a certain level," Horton told journalists.

"People are less tolerant today and are prepared to walk away from the Internet and stop using it in their business and in their private lives," he added.

Horton said he hoped that the meeting, the first of its kind, would trigger greater international cooperation needed to bring spam under control within two years.

As a first step, regulators are likely to set up a register of contacts in individual countries, where the problem is often dealt with by different government telecommunications, broadcasting or trade agencies.

They are also aiming to swap notes over different types of legislation which are being implemented in countries including the United States, South Korea and Britain.

July 7, 2004 at 08:16 PM in Spam | Permalink | TrackBack (23) | Top of page | Blog Home