A comprehensive plan to combat unsolicited e-mail (spam) involving the participation of Singapore’s three main ISPs and a variety of industry groups has been announced by the country’s information and communications technology regulator Infocomm Development Authority (IDA). One initiative is the setting up of a national antispam Web site known as the Singapore Anti-Spam Resource Centre (www.antispam.org.sg), jointly developed by IDA, the three ISPs plus the Consumer Association of Singapore (CASE), Direct Marketing Association of Singapore (DMAS), Singapore Business Federation (SBF) and Singapore infocomm Technology Federation (SiTF).
This Web site is part of a broader public awareness campaign on how to combat spam, along with free trials of antispam software from several leading vendors, IDA said in a statement. Singapore will also introduce legislation under which ISPs can take civil action against spammers for any loss or damage caused as a result of spam.
IDA and the Attorney-General’s Chambers of Singapore have issued a joint consultation paper, which proposes a legislative framework to control e-mail spam in Singapore. The new initiative seeks to balance the interests of legitimate businesses advertising via e-mails and interests of users who have the right to opt out of unsolicited e-mails, Leong said.