OPTA fines spammers
The Commission of OPTA, the Independent Post and Telecommunications Authority, has fined the senders of spam messages for the first time. This involves spam sent by e-mail and SMS. The largest fine totalled €42,500.00. In addition to combating Dutch spam, in recent months OPTA has also taken the initiative to improve its collaboration with other European regulatory authorities.
The spammers that have now been fined are natural persons and small businesses about which OPTA will not provide any other personal details. In most cases the overall fines consist of separate fines for offences including sending spam, failing to reveal the relevant message sender’s correct address and other details, and the failure to include an unsubscribe option. OPTA has taken action based on complaints which were submitted on the website, www.spamklacht.nl. In addition to electronic and legal investigations, OPTA conducted two raids to secure information and equipment.
The fine of €42,500.00 was imposed on a person who was involved in sending four lots of spam. In two cases this involved two lots of spam which this person sent on his own. Using the name, Kolik, he solicited the purchase of medicine and, using the name of the well-known spam-fighter, Rejo Zenger, he praised the book, Mein Kampf. Mr Zenger has also filed a complaint with the police in this respect.
In two other cases, the above-mentioned person sent spam messages together with Groenendaal Uitgeverij BV in Hilversum. These messages were sent in the name of SNK and contained an invitation to purchase CD-ROMs for producing quotations and for financial administration. In addition, a message was sent in the name of ‘Tekstbureau voor Marketingteksten’, which solicited marketing copywriting assignments. OPTA fined the respective company a total of €25,000.00.
In a third case, an overall fine of €20,000.00 was imposed on Stichting Yellow Monday in Etten-Leur, which sent spam by SMS using the name, ‘Purple Friday’. Unsolicited SMS messages were sent using the SMS code 3545 in the absence of the recipients’ consent and without mentioning the correct details of the sender’s address. The recipients were charged €1.10 for each message. In addition, it was difficult for the victims to stop these SMS messages.
OPTA is only able to combat spam which is sent in the Netherlands. However, spam is an international problem. Consequently, in recent months OPTA has taken the initiative together with the French privacy watchdog, CNIL, to improve European collaboration in the fight against spam. A collaboration protocol, which mainly makes provision for sharing information with each other was drafted for this purpose.
When the new Telecommunications Act came into effect on 19 May 2004, OPTA was assigned the duty of tackling spam transmitted by Dutch senders. In order to collect complaints OPTA opened the website, www.spamklacht.nl, at which more than 6000 complaints have been received to date. Based on these complaints, OPTA determines priorities for the purposes of its investigations and collects evidence to enable it to proceed with enforcement. Another 14 warnings have been issued to spam senders in recent months. In its efforts to tackle spam, OPTA works closely with the police and organisations such as Dutch Data Protection Authority (CBP), and it also expects to impose fines for the contravention of the prohibition of spam in 2005.
The Commission of OPTA, the Independent Post and Telecommunications Authority, has fined the senders of spam messages for the first time. This involves spam sent by e-mail and SMS. The largest fine totalled €42,500.00. In addition to combating Dutch spam, in recent months OPTA has also taken the initiative to improve its collaboration with other European regulatory authorities.