New Zealand Passes Anti-Spam Law

New Zealand passed the third reading of the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007 on February 27, 2007. The Act is devised to eradicate spam masses that clog the nation's inboxes. It is likely to become a law by September 1, 2007.

The legislation will enable Kiwis too to fight global spam, said David Cunliffe, Communications and IT Minister in a statement that m-net.net.nz published on February 28, 2007. David added that their anti-spam strategy aims to cooperate with the world to identify, destroy and block all sources of spam.

He noted that spam accounts for 80% of global e-mail traffic. It stifles networks, brings down productivity while eats on resources and time and help in scams and dangerous cyber attacks. It is thus a serious cost to both business and consumers.

One of the supporters of the Act, InternetNZ has welcomed the Act. David Farrar, vice president of InternetNZ said in a statement published in m-net.net.nz that they were thankful to MPs especially David Cunliffe and members of the Commerce Select Committee for processing the Unsolicited Electronic Message Bill.

The law will empower the enforcement agency integrated to the Department of Internal Affairs, to deal with spammers in New Zealand. It will also enable the agency to cooperate with international counterparts to clamp down and prosecute the most dangerous global spammers. Among the OECD countries with an anti-spam law, New Zealand is one of the latest.

InternetNZ appreciated David Harris, former InternetNZ councilor by acknowledging his tireless work to canvass the need for the legislation and playing a key role in spreading awareness about anti-spam.

Cunliffe said the law would go through a six-month transition period before taking effect. That will give organizations' e-mail practices and databases sufficient time to comply with all the sections of the Act.

Cunliffe added that this law alone would certainly not end the spam problem, however, it will help to extensively tackle spam originating in New Zealand. It will also help the country to join in international agreements to enforce anti-spam legislation and share information with national enforcement agencies, as well as pursue spam-concerning complaints across borders.

Related article: New Zealand Releases Code To Reduce Spam

» SPAMfighter News - 3/13/2007