"Slam the spam" - Richard Allan MP

12.00.00am GMT Wed 19th Mar 2003

Richard Allan, MP for Sheffield Hallam, has launched a Parliamentary inquiry into spam email and how to deal with it.

Joint-Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Internet Group in Parliament as well as the Liberal Democrat IT spokesperson, Richard Allan is concerned that Internet users are plagued with junk emails or spams. Measures are available to filter these out but spammers always try to stay one jump ahead.

Richard Allan says, "It affects my local constituents as well as large institutions. This problem is exercising some of the best brains internationally and could prove a major barrier to effective use of the internet if it is not resolved."

"It is noticeable that most of the spam originates in other countries. In the UK Internet Service Providers take active steps to stop spammers using their accounts. The comparison cannot be co-incidental. We will also be considering other market mechanisms for dealing with the problem."

Notes to Editors

1. Richard Allan MP and the All Party Internet Group have just completed work on the retention of internet data for law enforcement purposes.

2. Richard Allan recently received the ISPA Award for Internet Hero of the Year.

3. For further information on the group see www.apig.org.uk