UK is worst in Europe at enforcing email marketing laws

London-based Osborne Clarke ran a survey of email marketing laws across 17 countries – and found the UK at the bottom of the league. The only email action in the UK to date is a civil case brought by an individual who won an out-of-court settlement of £300. The UK's Information Commissioner has never taken enforcement action against a spammer.

The rules for email marketing are inconsistent across the EU so a Directive requires any marketer to respect the email laws that apply in any recipient's home state. That makes compliance tough for marketers that want to run global or EU-wide email campaigns.

The survey found that the most active enforcement regimes are in Austria (over 500 cases to date), Greece (over 70), Italy (over 50) and Spain (over 50). The highest penalties for those who get caught have so far been in Denmark (£154,000) and France (£205,000).

Most EU states forbid unsolicited commercial emails to company employees without prior consent. The UK is in the minority in allowing these on an "opt out" basis – i.e. emails that promote business products can be sent to corporate email addresses in the UK until the recipient says stop.

Stephen Groom, a marketing law partner at Osborne Clarke, said: "This survey confirms what many feared, which is that UK digital marketing law enforcement is in crisis, with responsible marketers wondering why they are bothering to be compliant when they see their competitors riding roughshod over the laws, gaining market advantage and suffering little or no penalty."