Israel Comes Up with Anti-spam Law

As per the news from pgcitizen.ca published in December 2008, there is a growing intolerance for spam in Israel. Accordingly, the country has implemented its new anti-spam legislation as per which dispatching e-mail, whether to masses or to single person, would be considered illegal if it, in any way, encourages the recipient to spend or give money without his explicit permission, or does not have the option to refuse further communication.

Dealing with the issue, the Israeli government, during June 2008, sanctioned 6 months (June 2008-November 2008) to solicitors to find out if the consumers were ready to receive uninvited e-mails. As a result, the Ministry of Communications got the right balance in the consumers and citizens who did not want to receive spam, or did not have an interest in persistent advertising.

With the last date of implementing the law being December 1, 2008, Israel finally brought its legislation into effect.

According to this law, individuals violating rules could face a fine of $250 for each of the unsolicited e-mail sent. Bothered Israelis could take legal assistance as many as five times per annum and every time file a maximum of 30 claims against the company sued for sending unsolicited e-mails. Moreover, the law now does not require any evidence of damage for effectively charging the spammer.

According to legal experts, the new act is fairly well constructed. This is because it establishes a standard for lawful marketers, and for those who are offenders, it comes down hard on them as the punishment is harsh for not complying with the anti-spam legislation. Meanwhile, as different from similar legislation in the US and Europe, the Israeli law makes even those charitable solicitations unlawful that are not requested for.

Furthermore, the new law will indirectly help businesses in saving their resources and money, as they will now be required to focus their advertising on relevant audience rather than target the general mass with spam.

Related article: Israeli Arab Nabbed for Cyber-vandalism of Israeli Websites

» SPAMfighter News - 1/13/2009