LAP
Seeking practical cooperation against spam with partners abroad is not only desirable, but necessary. Trying to establish formal international networks and mechanisms would take years to develop and therefore would have allowed the threat of spam and cyber-incidents to develop beyond control in the meantime. Because of this, industry experts and a wide range of enforcement agencies from a number of countries came together in 2004 and agreed to the London Action Plan. Visit the main site at http://www.londonactionplan.org and view details of the Plan in English, French and Russian.
Determined to take concrete national and international action against spam collaboratively, this public-private partnership open to all relevant stakeholders constitutes a fast-moving, flexible international network dedicated to promoting international spam enforcement cooperation and address spam related problems, such as online fraud and deception, phishing, and dissemination of viruses. The participants also open the Action Plan for participation by other interested government and public agencies, and by appropriate private sector representatives such as Internet Service Providers (ISPs), as a way to expand the network of experts and entities engaged in spam enforcement cooperation.
Alongside cross-border investigations and various international initiatives such as ‘Operation Spam Zombies’ , the ‘Internet Spam Sweep’ in cooperation with the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (ICPEN), or the development of the LAP/CNSA Proforma for the Referral of Spam Investigations, members of the LAP have also held REGULAR AND ONGOING tele-conferences and e-discussions, as well as face-to-face workshops, to:
a) Discuss cases.
b) Discuss legislative and law enforcement developments.
c) Exchange effective investigative techniques and enforcement strategies.
d) Discuss obstacles to effective enforcement and ways to overcome these obstacles.
e) Discuss undertaking joint consumer and business education projects addressing problems related to spam such as online fraud and deception, phishing, and dissemination of viruses.
f) Participate in joint training sessions with private sector representatives to identify new ways of cooperating and to discuss spam investigation techniques.
g) Discuss new technology and trends in email and spam.
The LAP now counts more than 60 members, including consumer protection, privacy or telecommunication regulators spanning 5 continents.
