Shenzhen company fined for junk email

In what is believed to be the first case of its kind under the Measures for the Administration of Internet Electronic Mail Service (Measures), a Shenzhen company was fined Rmb5,000 (US$630) for sending a "vast amount" of junk electronic mail. Zhang Aiping, vice-director of the Guangdong Provincial Administration of Communication, says the fine will send a warning to future senders of 'spam' email.

The Measures, which became effective in March 2006, ban the sending of junk email without the recipient's permission and that all such emails must be marked 'advertisement' or 'AD'. Companies or individuals profiting from illegally sending junk emails could be fined between Rmb5,000 and Rmb30,000 depending on the type of breach.

The Internet Society of China has announced that it will train 1,000 email service administrators in key regions from September 2006 to improve internet firms' defences against 'spam' email.