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Government announces legislative proposals to contain spam problem (with photo)
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    The Government today (January 20) launched a two-month public consultation exercise on the legislative proposals to contain the problem of unsolicited electronic messages.

     Speaking at a luncheon meeting of the InterChambers of Commerce today, the Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology, Mr John Tsang, said that the proposed anti-spam legislation, entitled Unsolicited Electronic Messages Bill, would regulate only electronic messages of a commercial nature.

     "Regulating unsolicited electronic messages of a commercial nature will ensure that regulation is needs-driven. It should also put the minds of sceptics and conspiracy theorists at ease in that there is no question of Government using the proposed anti-spam legislation to restrict freedom of speech and freedom of expression in Hong Kong," he said.

     The proposed legislation will adopt a technology neutral approach and bring within the ambit of the Bill generally all types of electronic messages to cater for new types of electronic messages that may spring up in future in response to technology and service developments.

     Mr Tsang said that normal person-to-person telephone calls to promote certain products or services to existing or potential clients, however, would fall outside the ambit of the Bill so as to leave room for normal and legitimate marketing activities.

     Regarding the choice between the "opt-in" or "opt-out" approach for regulating the spam problem, Mr Tsang said that the Government decided to stick to the original proposal of adopting the "opt-out" regime.

     "An 'opt-out' regime would provide companies with room to promote their products, and in turn facilitate development of SMEs. It also provides opportunities for recipients to browse through promotion information before deciding whether to receive further messages," Mr Tsang explained.

     To address one of the shortcomings of the "opt-out" regime that a recipient of commercial electronic messages needs to unsubscribe from many senders, the Government proposed to implement a system of "do-not-call registers" to support the "opt-out" regime.

     Once an electronic address is placed in such a register, the legal effect will be the same as sending unsubscribe messages to ALL e-marketers that no further commercial electronic messages should be sent to that electronic address.

     "I would like to caution, though, that the system of do-not-call registers may not be suitable for all types of electronic communications, such as email messages. Indeed, such a register would be a gold mine for illicit spammers seeking a list of valid e-mail addresses to spam.

     "At this stage, we think do-not-call registers should be suitable for pre-recorded voice or video messages, fax messages and SMS/MMS messages," Mr Tsang said.

     Mr Tsang also highlighted that the proposed Unsolicited Electronic Messages Bill would be given extra-territorial application in circumstances where there is a Hong Kong connection. All commercial electronic messages with a Hong Kong connection should be required to comply with the requirements in the Bill.

     "This extra-territorial application will facilitate co-operation with overseas law enforcement agencies and send a clear signal to overseas spammers that their actions would not be tolerated.

     "If you have included your Hong Kong mobile phone numbers on a do-not-call register and an unscrupulous e-marketer still sends you pre-recorded promotion messages in the middle of the night while you are in New York, that e-marketer has breached the regulatory regime and would be subject to enforcement action by the Telecommunications Authority.

     "And if you should feel aggrieved by such calls, the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Bill would empower you, as a victim, to seek in court remedies from the spammer, including compensation by way of damages for the pecuniary loss that you have suffered," Mr Tsang said.

     The detailed legislative proposals to contain the problem of unsolicited electronic messages are available at the website of the Communications and Technology Branch of the Commerce, Industry and Technology Bureau (CITB): www.citb.gov.hk/ctb/.

     Members of the public are invited to send their comments on the proposals to CITB by post to 2/F Murray Building, Garden Road, Hong Kong; by fax to 2511 1458 or by email to uem@citb.gov.hk by March 20.

Ends/Friday, January 20, 2006
Issued at HKT 15:40

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