BEIJING, June 13 -- Hong Kong plans to enact an anti-spam law next year to crack down on companies that send unsolicited e-mails or make automated telemarketing calls to consumers.

    The SAR government has consulted with industry groups to craft a law that would combat junk faxes, e-mails, text messages and telemarketing calls.

    Au Man-ho, director-general of the Telecommunications Authority, said in a statement that direct marketing companies using automated calling on an unsolicited basis "can be considered a spam problem."

    However, Au said the law ¡ª to take effect at an unspecified date in 2006 ¡ª would not cover "manually made cold calls" to avoid interfering with normal business activities.

    He said the issue still requires public discussion and that the government was working with fixed-line and mobile operators to create a code of practice for telemarketing.Enditem

(Source: CRIENGLISH.com)