International spam deal needed, says minister

Communications Minister David Cunliffe today called for an international agreement to fight the huge number of spam emails.

Parliament is currently considering the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Bill, designed to clamp down on those who create spam -- or junk email -- messages. But Mr Cunliffe today told an internet conference in Wellington that an international agreement would be far more effective.

Opening the internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) conference, Mr Cunliffe said it was essential governments were concerned with the health of the net.

"I think the time is right for a discussion on how, globally, governments and stakeholders can effectively tackle issues like spam by working together.

"A number of countries do have anti-spam legislation. New Zealand is currently in the legislative process but I believe that an international agreement would add credence to this."

Once New Zealand's legislation was passed, the Government would look to engage with other countries on the issue, both at a bilateral and multilateral level.

Mr Cunliffe also reiterated the Government's commitment to opening access to cheaper faster broadband internet services.

For the past 18 months it has been trying to lever Telecom to provide faster, cheaper services and to provide competitors with bulk access to its network so they can do the same.

The Unsolicited Electronic Messages Bill is being considered by the commerce select committee and will be reported back to the House by mid-June.

Mr Cunliffe has said that without specific anti-spam legislation, New Zealand ran the risk of being seen as a safe haven for spammers.

The bill would prohibit spam, enable legal action against New Zealand-based spammers and let New Zealand be involved in international regulatory arrangements to curb the growth of spam.

ICANN is the international organisation that assigns internet domain names.

- NZPA