Parliamentary anti-spam committe the All-Party Internet Group is visiting Washington DC later this month to reach agreement with the US government on how to counter the global nuisance of junk email, which is fast becoming a major businesses issue.
Link: US plans blitz on spam
Group members including e-Envoy Andrew Pinder and MPs Derek Wyatt, Brian White and Andrew Miller will meet with US senators and officials.
They will discuss how legislation in Europe, the UK and US could be more better aligned to fight spam.
The delegation will spend three days on Capitol Hill making the case for the US to consider allowing consumers to deliberately ‘opt-in’ if they want spam, rather than their current ‘opt-out’ approach.
APIG said this is the first time a UK parliamentary delegation has met with counterparts in the US to discuss common global tactics to counter spam.
APIG chairman Derek Wyatt said in a statement: ‘As 90% of all spamming emails originate in the US, we must try and persuade our political colleagues in Washington that their current opt-out system might just ensure that the internet becomes blocked forever which will push up costs and act as a major disincentive to use.”
Andrew Pinder, e-Envoy added in a statement: ‘Spam is a growing problem for businesses and home internet users alike, it wastes resources and in some instances can be extremely offensive. This visit to Washington DC will allow sharing of best practice and further cooperation with the US to effectively tackle spam.’