Spanish websites fight new e-commerce law

Websites in Spain are shutting down in protest after the introduction of a law which requires them to be registered by the government.

Under the new legislation, any site based in Spain that engages in e-commerce must now register with the government.

More than 300 website owners have taken their pages offline, according to Kriptopolis, a digital rights and internet security site which is co-ordinating the campaign.

News website SFGate.com reported that the Spanish government insisted that the law, which stems from European Union (EU) directives, is to encourage online commerce by making the internet a safer place to do business.

It wants companies operating on the internet to be subject to the same tax and commerce laws as traditional firms.

But Kriptopolis has argued that Spain has gone far beyond the spirit of the EU guidelines and is trying to regulate cyberspace too strictly.

Some provisions of the law oblige internet service providers (ISPs) and websites to store customers' "connection and traffic data" for up to a year.

Also, should the Spanish authorities deem something on a foreign-hosted website as a threat to national security, public order or consumer rights, they can order ISPs to sever access to that site.

Fines for violations can be as high as €600,000.