Story: Telecommunications

Spam

The government made this educational film on New Zealand’s anti-spam law, the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007. Unwanted bulk emails sent from New Zealand could now incur fines. In December 2008 the first prosecution for spamming was successful, and spammer Lance Atkinson was fined $100,000. A year later a United States Federal Trade Commission prosecution of Atkinson resulted in his conviction for spamming and a fine of US$15.1 million (NZ$21 million). Although Atkinson was then living in Australia, it was expected that the judgment would be enforced.

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How to cite this page:

A. C. Wilson, 'Telecommunications - Internet', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/video/22035/spam (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by A. C. Wilson, published 11 Mar 2010, updated 1 Apr 2022