New European laws banning spam emails have come into force.
It is now a criminal offence to send unsolicited commercial emails or text messages unless the recipient has agreed in advance to receive them.
Firms that continue to send spam face hefty fines and, in certain circumstances, can be sued by the recipients.
The Government has described the new EU regulations as a "step in the right direction" in the fight against the millions of unwanted messages that clog up email servers around the country.
However, junk mail is expected to continue to deluge British email accounts as most of it originates from outside the EU.
Firms using tracking devices such as "cookies" on their websites will also have to tell users and provide an opportunity to reject them.
Businesses which have established relationships with their customers are exempt from the new laws, in an attempt to ensure that business-to-business e-marketing is not affected.
Companies or individuals that break the laws can be reported to the office of the information commissioner, which has powers to take them to the courts.
In the first instance, magistrates can levy fines of up to £5,000.
The organisation can also be sent to trial by jury, where there is no limit to fines.
Spam now accounts for an estimated 50% of global email traffic, compared with 8% two years ago.
It is now a criminal offence to send unsolicited commercial emails or text messages unless the recipient has agreed in advance to receive them.
Firms that continue to send spam face hefty fines and, in certain circumstances, can be sued by the recipients.
The Government has described the new EU regulations as a "step in the right direction" in the fight against the millions of unwanted messages that clog up email servers around the country.
However, junk mail is expected to continue to deluge British email accounts as most of it originates from outside the EU.
Firms using tracking devices such as "cookies" on their websites will also have to tell users and provide an opportunity to reject them.
Businesses which have established relationships with their customers are exempt from the new laws, in an attempt to ensure that business-to-business e-marketing is not affected.
Companies or individuals that break the laws can be reported to the office of the information commissioner, which has powers to take them to the courts.
In the first instance, magistrates can levy fines of up to £5,000.
The organisation can also be sent to trial by jury, where there is no limit to fines.
Spam now accounts for an estimated 50% of global email traffic, compared with 8% two years ago.
on all 3 accounts lol
