Hong Kong Introduces New Law To Control Spam

On May 29, 2007, Hong Kong officials were readying to bring in new law to control spam. The law would impose five year imprisonment and penalty of up to US$ 130, 000 for habitual offenders. Monstersandcritics published this on the same day.

The regulations that became effective since June 1, 2007 come after various complaints of about 6.9 million spam assaults from businesses and residents throughout the city.

Amongst the prominent reasons pushing the enforcement of this law is to keep the city from becoming a refuge for illegal spamming activities, drafter of the law said this in a presentation during March. The law is also expected to safeguard Hong Kong businesses and residents from spam.

The new legislation will threaten the scammers with various penalties, of which the most severe is reserved for spammers who route unsolicited emails via open relays, which are run by the unsuspecting third parties or for those who hack in to other PCs to relay unwanted emails. The law is also going to specifically preserve spam victims' right to take action against the scammers, irrespective of the govt.'s obtaining a conviction.

This will enable victims to utilize Small Claims Tribunal of Hong Kong that's designed for resolving cases comprising damages of up to US$6,500 quickly as well as cheaply.

"Cooperation will be required from the ISPs. Also, they need to provide information when needed to allow in the enforcement of this law," divulged Wong. Computing.co.uk published this on May 31, 2007.

"And in case the Internet Service Providers, or in fact any other groups, are found assisting these spammers, they could be answerable to offences included in this law," added Wong.

However, experts have warned that this law won't lead to drastic decline in spam rate, as an approximate 90% originate from overseas - most coming from the US, mainland China, and Europe, and aren't within the control and jurisdiction of Hong Kong.

From June 1, this year, people who get spam may register complaint with Office of Telecomm Authority of Hong Kong. The Authority will then inquire into the cases. Pre recorded phone messages and junk faxes will also be covered under this law.

Related article: Hong Kong Again Emerged The Most Spammed Country

» SPAMfighter News - 6/15/2007