The amount of unsolicited e-mail — also called “spam” — is increasing. But
users should have a choice as to which type of e-mail they want to receive
and which type they don’t, according to The European Council for Telecommunications and Transport.
The Council said it will devote itself to the problem at a conference on Wednesday.
BEUC, the European consumers’ organization, supports the suggestion of the
council to order Internet Service Providers to get permission from users
(opt-in) before e-mails are sent. The position of BEUC is that it is not
users but rather senders who should be the ones having to take measures to
prevent the receipt of marketing e-mail.
“We demand that the ministers come
to an agreement on a European opt-in guideline for this country-spanning
problem,” said Jim Murray, director of BEUC.
National prohibitions on this
already exist in Germany, Austria and Italy.