Re: [anti-spam-wg@localhost] EU (anti)spam Status?

[Claes Tullbrink <]

Fri, 15 Aug 2003 14:06:23 +0200 (MET DST) skrev Gunnar Lindberg
>Rumors claim that EU has changed its mind about spam status, legal
>or illegal, or is the process of doing so. Anybody who can fill in?

Today I talked to the civil servant working with implementation of the
spam directive at the Swedish department of Agriculture (where
consumer-related issues are handled - spam really *is* a consumer
issue because businesses for sure don't have any spam problem!? NOT!) 

According to that person the EU commission, my guess probably Erki
Likkanen, are very anti-spam, actively checking how the implemention
is proceeding and thinking about what can be done in the mean time.
(And you did notice his press release a month ago?
<www.europa.eu.int/rapid/start/cgi/guesten.ksh?p_action.gettxt=gt&doc=IP/03/1015|0|RAPID&lg=EN&display=>
Please especially note the part saying "Member States can also ban
unsolicited commercial e-mails to businesses", an issue discussed and
widely disbelieved at least in Sweden).

Of course, that may be plain wrong, or the mindchanging beeing done
somewhere else in the EU bureaucracy. Certainly, there are lobbyist
trying to work in the interest of spamming industry, trying to
minimize the legal regulations of UCE, so I wouldn't be *very*
surprised if their efforts did lead to at least Something Bad.

Claes T