The ACCC and the Australian Communications Authority (ACA) have signed an agreement with agencies from the US and the UK in an attempt to prevent the global spread of spam.*
Agencies from the three countries have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) which will assist them to more effectively enforce anti-spam laws by:
facilitating coordinated investigations
avoiding duplication of investigations
facilitating research and education
keeping each other informed of spam violations in their respective countries.
The MOU, signed on 2 July 2004, provides the participating countries with a framework to coordinate their cross border spam activities and, through greater discussion and practical actions, increases the ability of agencies to enforce their respective anti-spam laws.
The parties to the MOU are the ACCC, the ACA, the US Federal Trade Commission, the UK Department of Trade and Industry, the UK Information Commissioner and the UK Office of Fair Trading.
* Spam is unsolicited commercial electronic messages, ‘junk’ e-mail sent to large numbers of people to promote products or services.
