The Commission has proposed that existing data protection legislation in the European Union, relating to the telecommunications sector, be modified to include an ‘opt-in’ clause. Currently most suppliers in the EC use an ‘opt-out’ clause where a box is ticked if the user does not want to receive spam, this means that the default setting is that the user wants to receive spam. Under an ‘opt-in’ provision the default setting is that the user does not want to receive spam, it is only if the user selects the ‘opt-in’ box that he/she will receive spam.
A statement issued by the Commission stated, ‘This [opt-in] is supported by the study, which found that, from the point of view of the industry, permission-based marketing is proving a more effective and viable method of data collection. The study also found that the opt-in approach would serve to bolster consumer confidence in the EU.’
At the moment, ‘opt-in’ systems are only in place in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Italy and Germany.
The chief executive officer of spam filtering firm Brightmail commented, ‘Not only do these attacks result in an estimated 15 to 20 percent decrease in employee productivity, they also create huge downtime problems for ISP’s, resulting in ‘denial of service’ for subscribers.’
It has been suggested that if these Commission proposals are implemented, the problem of spam may be irradicated by the end of 2002. However, critics have pointed out that most current spammers are less-than-reputable businesses who will take little notice of anti-spam laws.