The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and agencies in the United States, the United Kingdom and the Australian Communications Authority (ACA) have joined forces in the fight against spam* with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU).
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.
"The MOU provides a framework for us to work together to tackle cross border spam violations and will enhance the ability of each agency to enforce their respective laws against spam", ACCC Chairman, Mr Graeme Samuel, said today.
"The parties recognise that spam is a growing and serious problem, one which creates considerable costs for businesses, is often misleading and deceptive and undermines consumer confidence. International cooperation is necessary if we are to combat the problem of spam.
"This arrangement builds upon the enforcement cooperation already provided for in agreements the ACCC has with agencies in the US and the UK and the ACA".
The MoU provides for increased discussion and practical actions by the agencies involved. As an example the UK Office of Fair Trading, as chair of this year's International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (ICPEN), will host a workshop in London in October 2004 focusing on spam enforcement issues.
The ACCC is also currently exploring the possibility of entering into cooperation agreements with other counterpart agencies to ensure that cross border investigations and enforcement activities can be undertaken in a timely and effective manner.