The European Commission (EC) is threatening eight member states with legal action for not adopting new privacy rules for digital networks and services.

The EC warned nine member states in November for not intergrating its Directive on Privacy and Electronic Communications (e-Privacy Directive) into their national laws. The Directive introduces a "spam ban" throughout the EU and sets rules for installing cookies on users' personal computers.

So far, only Sweden has notified the Commission of new spam legislation. Belgium, Germany, Greece, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Finland now have two months in which to respond. If they fail to comply, they could face action before the European Court of Justice.

Enterprise and information society commissioner Erkki Liikanen said in a statement: "We are determined to keep up the pressure on those member states that have yet to implement the legislation they signed up in 2002. This Directive is vital to ensure that privacy and data protection are assured in an online world." ®

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