First ruling under new UK anti-spam legislation

On 11 December 2003 new anti-spam legislation in the UK will come into
force, implementing the European Directive on privacy in the
telecommunications sector (2002/58/EC). In the UK, spammers risk a fine of
7.196 EUR (5.000 GBP) from a magistrates court or even an unlimited
penalty from a jury. Though a criminal offence, spammers in the UK do not
risk a prison sentence.

In a test case, on 10 September the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority
ruled that e-mail marketers must obtain explicit consent from the targets
of advertising, even when they use a list of addresses purchased in good
faith. The Authority revamped its Code of Practice in March 2003, with new
requirements for consent before marketing by e-mail. As progressive as
this code might seem, the Advertising Authority confirmed that business
e-mail addresses remain unprotected.

First UK ruling under new rules on e-mail marketing (10.09.2003)
http://www.out-law.com/php/page.php?page_id=firstukrulingunde1063203882&area=news

UK legal implementation (approved by parliament 18.09.2003)
http://www.dti.gov.uk/industry_files/pdf/regulations_20030918.pdf