The European Commission (EC) has again called on Member States to do more to tackle online threats to the public, stepping up the fight against spam and the protection of privacy in electronic communications.
The call comes following yesterday’s presentation of the results of the EC-financed study “Study on activities undertaken to address threats that undermine confidence in the Information Society, such as spam, spyware and malicious software - SMART 2008/ 0013”. These results show that while measures have been taken in recent years by the countries of the European Union in the fight against spam, these measures vary considerably.
The study concludes by confirming the need for the legislative improvements proposed under the reform of the EU's Telecoms rules, leading to sanctions which better deter spammers and prevent violations of privacy. According to the study, the majority of Member States have made one of more websites available where citizens can obtain information or make complaints if they have become victims of spam, spyware or malware.
Likewise, it is concluded that spam is a global problem which justifies further international cooperation, whereby the countries of the European Union should allocate more resources to national authorities working in this area so that they can better pursue investigations.
