Marketing body tackles spam

The UK's Direct Marketing Association (DMA) today launched a service that will help stop unwanted email, known as spam.

The association said the E-mail Preference Service (e-MPS) would reduce the amount of unsolicited emails and help reputable marketers.

UK consumers can register for the free service by providing their email address and opting out of one or all three categories, which are business-to-consumers, business-to-business, or all unsolicited commercial emails.

The scheme is based on the Mailing Preference Service, which is used to protect consumers against paper-based junk mail.

The DMA said legitimate "e-marketers" will be able to enter the DMA UK gateway to "clean their lists" electronically for a nominal charge each year. This will allow them to remove the names of individuals who do not want to receive unsolicited commercial email.

DMA members who want to send unsolicited commercial email must first purge their lists of individuals who have registered their email address with the e-MPS. The service is available to all marketers, and the DMA said the greater the number of markets who use the service, the greater the reduction in unsolicited commercial email consumers will experience.

"Online marketing is at a critical stage," said Colin Lloyd, DMA UK chief executive. "The e-MPS will ensure that the requirements of the Distance Selling Contracts Directive in respect of email communication are met.

"The DMA wants to ensure that this new and viable means of marketing continues to grow and builds on our mission to maintain consumer trust and confidence."

However, Internet watchdog EuroISPA, is sceptical over the scheme's success.

"The email preference service won't solve the problem," said a EuroISPA spokesman.

"The DMA is stuck with an inability to send commercial email as it can't differentiate itself from the spammers. This is not the answer to its problems or consumers' problems. With this service, consumers won't know whether the mail they get is from companies who conform to the scheme," he added.