The meeting in Geneva, hosted by the International
Telecommunications Union (ITU), is being attended by regulators
from 60 countries and representatives from bodies such as the World
Trade Organization.
The solution put forward by the ITU is to tackle the lack of
anti-spam laws in most countries, which currently means that
spammers are fearless of prosecution in their home country, let
alone in the foreign state where their e-mail is being
received.
The ITU proposes to make examples of such laws available for use
by states in which there is no anti-spam framework. It also
recognises the need for technical solutions and education of
consumers.
"If we achieve full international co-operation among governments
and software companies, this plague which affects so many of us in
our everyday life will be defeated in short order," said Robert
Horton, chair of the meeting and acting head of the Australian
regulator.
The proposal follows an announcement that the US Federal Trade
Commission will be joining forces and sharing resources with the
UK's Information Commissioner and other agencies in the UK and
Australia in the battle against illegal spam.
