Nations join to combat cross-border spam.

• Author: Swartz, Nikki
• Position: UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis - Agencia Espanola de Proteccion de Datos

Anti-spam enforcement authorities in 13 European countries recently agreed to share information and pursue complaints across borders in a joint drive to combat electronic junk mail. The nations will cooperate in investigating complaints about cross-border spare from anywhere within the European Union to make it easier to identify and prosecute spammers anywhere in Europe.

The voluntary agreement establishes a common procedure for handling cross-border spam complaints. Participating countries--including Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, the Nether-lands, and Spain--will make their best efforts to address complaints from each other.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Spain's data protection authority, Agencia Espanola de Proteccion de Datos (AEPD), recently signed a bilateral memorandum of understanding to promote enhanced cooperation and information sharing on spam enforcement activities. In July 2004, the FTC signed a similar agreement with the United Kingdom and Australia.

In October 2004, the FTC, the AEPD, and other enforcement agencies from countries around the world met in London to develop...