Hong Kong spammer face jail
HONG KONG spammers will face big fines and long jail terms under a new law to control unsolicited advertising.
A new ordinance in the southern Chinese city will regulate all messages sent by electronic means that advertise or promote goods or services, including fax, email, SMS text and pre-recorded voice messages.
Violators could be fined up to $HK1 million ($156,000) and face up to five years in jail.
Deputy Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology Marion Lai said the ordinance will be implemented in two phases, with the first phase coming into effect on Friday.
The measure bans messages to addresses obtained through a "dictionary" or "brute force" attacks, which automatically generate possible recipients, or through software which searches the internet for addresses.
