China signs anti-spam pact

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By Tim Richardson • Get more from this author

Posted in Spam, 4th July 2005 14:18 GMT

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China - the world's second biggest producer of spam behind the US - has signed up to an international agreement to crack down on unsolicited email.

Beijing has added its name to the list of countries that have adopted the London Action Plan on Spam Enforcement Collaboration - a group that works to target spammers.

In February this year, the London Action Plan was behind a massive one-day sweep of the net. Its analysis of 300,000 junk emails has led to more than 300 investigations being carried out.

More recently, it was behind operation 'Spam Zombies', part of a global effort to prevent computers being hijacked without the users' knowledge.

Keen to welcome China's involvement against spam UK eminister Alun Michael said: "We have long been keen to engage with China on the issue of spam, in particular because China is probably the second biggest source of spam in the world.

"During our Presidency of the EU and beyond, we will continue to intensify our activities with Chinese and other partners to address spam and viruses, and therefore contribute to the continued development and safety of the global information society."

Last month Hong Kong announced plans to crack down on spam. It plans to introduce new anti-spam laws next year in the war against junk emails, faxes and automated telephone calls. ®