Firms may get anti-spam protection

European anti-spam legislation could soon be widened to give companies the same legal protection against UK spammers enjoyed by consumers.

The opt-in principle included in the Privacy and Electronic Communications regulations makes it illegal for UK companies to send marketing emails unless there has been prior consent.

If someone wants to receive unsolicited email they have to request it by opting-in. But under the regulations, introduced on 11 December, this applies only to consumers.

Currently the only way companies can stop direct marketing emails is to invoke the Data Protection Act.

Phil Jones, assistant commissioner in the Information Commissioner's Office, is optimistic that this will be reviewed by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

By May the DTI should have amended the Privacy and Electronic Communications regulations to allow companies to sign up for the Telephone Preference Service, which was previously limited to consumers.

This will allow companies to add their phone numbers to a list that direct marketers will not be allowed to call.

The DTI has always said it would monitor spam, and with complaints from companies on the rise, Jones said it would be logical to include protection for businesses.

"I am not guaranteeing that it will be reviewed and am expressing a personal opinion. But this is quite likely from what I have heard and I am confident. The DTI is under a lot of pressure to review this," he explained.

"You cannot distinguish about who pays the [email] bill and most of our complaints about spam are from companies."

Jones said that the Information Commissioner is also keen for improvements to be made to its "slow and cumbersome" enforcement powers.

"I do know that this will be reviewed as the DTI is actively looking at this. Again I cannot give guarantees that procedures will be changed, but I am reasonably optimistic," he told vnunet.com.

A spokesman for the DTI maintained that the directive was under review. "There are various things we will be looking at," he said.