Vol. 577 No. 4
52 Mr. Stagg asked the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources when the new EU regulations to control the creation of spam e-mails will come into operation; if there have been discussions with the authorities in the United States on this problem, in view of the huge number of such nuisance e-mails that originate in the US; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31276/03]
I signed the European Communities (Electronic Communications Networks and Services) (Data Protection and Privacy) Regulations 2003 into force on 6 November 2003. These regulations fully implement EU requirements contained in Directive 2002/58/EC regarding the regulation of spam. Spam is a growing problem and remedial action is urgently required. The most recent figures indicate that in excess of 55% of global e-mail traffic is spam and that time wasted in clearing in-boxes cost firms over €2.5 billion in productivity.
As a large amount of spam currently originates in the US, it is important that appropriate international co-operation and enforcement measures can be agreed. The European Commission has initiated discussion with the US administration regarding the regulation of spam and the co-ordination of enforcement measures. My officials have recently held exploratory discussions with representatives of the US Chamber of Commerce to inform our position in advance of Ireland assuming the European Presidency.
The European Commission is to issue a communication to member states on this subject in the new year. My Department has contributed to the discussions and deliberations which will inform this communication. An OECD debate on spam will be hosted by the European Commission in February 2004 where I anticipate further discussions with the US administration can be facilitated.
