Michael Fabricant is co-sponsoring a Bill with Paul Flynn (the Labour MP for
Newport West in Wales) which would make it illegal to send out spam – or
unwanted junk – emails. The American company, Yahoo, has estimated that a
half of all emails are now spam and the proportion is increasing. Some
have suggested that the world email system will collapse within 6 to 12
months under the weight of all these unwanted emails. The Consumer
Protection (Unsolicited emails) Bill passed its first stage in Parliament
today without any opposition.

Michael Fabricant says: "Anyone with a computer will know that spam is
causing a real problem. Over a third of spam emails are pornographic and
may be seen by young children. Equally worryingly, it is also possible to
buy medical drugs through these emails which should only be prescribed by a
doctor.

"Twenty states in the United States and 8 EU countries have now passed
legislation to ban people from sending out spam emails: we now need to do
the same. However, this is a worldwide problem and will only be eradicated
when all countries pass such legislation." Michael is Chairman of the
House Information Committee which, among other things, controls the
technology available to Members of Parliament and their staff.