Call to include business emails in privacy bill

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A parliamentary watchdog has criticised the Government for excluding businesses from its European Privacy Directive, and is lobbying the E-commerce Minister to make a provision for company spam by the end of the year.
A report by the All Party Internet Group (APIG) has attacked the DTI for not prohibiting unsolicited business email within its Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003. It recommends that when the DTI updates the laws on business-to-business cold calling later this year, it should explicitly ban the sending of spam to business addresses.
'Many people use their business email for personal communications too,' said Derek Wyatt, a Labour backbencher and chairman of the APIG. 'To assume that businesses are taking precautions is a mistake, when 80% of UK companies are small or medium-sized and unable to handle the burden.'
From December, UK companies will face a £500 fine if they send junk email to individuals who aren't customers. But there are no penalties for spamming businesses.
The APIG report also identified the need for a distinction between business communications and those intended for individuals.
The Information Commissioner should also be granted greater powers and resources to deal with spam, said the report. Next week, members of APIG will travel to the US to present the findings to Congress and US lobby groups.