UK Government struggles to prosecute spammers
The UK's privacy watchdog has admitted that it has not successfully prosecuted any UK spammers, despite regulations designed to curb spam being brought in three years ago.
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has frequently said it has a lack of power to combat spam, and blames its lack of power on the UK Government. "We have not prosecuted spammers," said an ICO spokesman. "We have limited powers as you know to deal with people who pedal unsolicited marketing emails."
"As the commissioner said in his annual report this year: 'We do not believe the powers provided by PECR [Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations] are sufficient for us to tackle the nature of the problems created by irresponsible electronic marketing'," the ICO told ZDNet UK. "We are continuing to discuss measures to strengthen our powers with the DTI."
