The OECD deputy secretary-general, Herwig Schlogl, told attendees that greater co-operation is needed between the OECD’s 30 member nations when it comes to legislating against spam and enforcing that legislation.
Effective legislation also means that countries have the necessary investigation and prosecution powers, as well as the ability to co-operate internationally, EU information society commissioner Erkki Liikanen said in an address at the meeting.
The two-day gathering was set up to discuss guidelines for this kind of cooperation, following earlier guidelines drafted on related fields such as internet security, which is often described as difficult due to diverse regulatory regimes.
The EU commissioner for the information society, Erkki Liikanen, said: The object would not be to seek to impose one regime over another. We need to take into account the diversity of the regulatory approaches taken in OECD member countries.
The differences between European pro-consumer and US pro-business regulatory cultures have filtered into their respective anti-spam laws. The EU mandates nations introduce opt-in legislation, while US law calls for spammers to provide opt-out.
The OECD’s Schlogl said that governments should also push for self-regulation among marketing companies, and could use their considerable spending power as a carrot to encourage suppliers to develop more effective anti-spam protection systems.
This article is based on material originally published by ComputerWire
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