The Hague – It will be illegal to send spam e-mails to businesses within the Netherlands as of October 2009, the ministry of economic affairs reported on Monday.

Sending spam e-mails to private individuals was prohibited in 2004.
 
Deputy minister of economic affairs Frank Heemskerk said the measure is not just aimed at nuisance e-mails, but also against crime. Spam e-mails may be used to obtain sensitive information contained in computers.

Opta, the Dutch Telecom market regulator, has levied fines of EUR 1,564,000 since the initial 2004 ban. The amount of spam sent from the Netherlands has dropped 85 percent since that time. Under the new measures, Dutch companies that send spam e-mails will face fines of up to EUR 450,000.

Spam e-mail is defined as a message sent for commercial, charitable or idealistic purposes without the permission or request of the receiving party.

For more information or to report unwanted emails, see the ministry's spam complaint website.

Radio Netherlands / Expatica