Hong Kong government decides not to ban all unsolicited e-mails

Mar 24, 2006, 11:12 GMT

Hong Kong - The Hong Kong government indicated Friday it had decided against a blanket ban on spam e-mails because it would have too big an impact on advertisers.

Deputy secretary for commerce, industry and technology Marion Lai said banning all unsolicited emails would have an unfairly harsh effect on smaller businesses with low advertising budgets.

Instead, the government is likely to introduce legislation banning spam emails only in cases where the recipient requests not to receive further communication.

The statement by Lai comes as the government wraps up a public consultation exercise to decide how to deal with the growing tide of spam email in the hi-tech city of 6.8 million.

Lai told reporters a blanket ban on spam emails 'might give a higher level of protection for the individual' but would be 'a blow' top the marketing efforts of small businesses.

'Newly set-up companies and small and medium-sized companies don't have a strong customer base and don't have a lot of funding for promoting, but such companies constitute the backbone of our economy.

'They provide a lot of employment opportunities, and we think we should leave room for their marketing activities.'

Hong Kong people have indicated to the government they are increasingly fed up with spam e-mails as well as pre-recorded advertising phone calls which often go out late at night.

The government is expected to announce legislation this year to deal with spam e-mails and calls, forcing companies to stop communicating when people ask to be exempt.