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This story was printed from silicon.com, located at http://www.silicon.com/

Story URL: http://www.silicon.com/research/specialreports/thespamreport/0,39025001,39128616,00.htm

Labour insists: We're no spammers
They just sent lots of people email they didn't want...

By Will Sturgeon

Published: Friday 11 March 2005

The Labour Party has hit back at suggestions that is has been guilty of sending spam email – insisting all email addresses had been opted-in.

However, it seems original suggestions from Labour that all the emails were directly solicited from the Labour Party website or through Party membership were still a little wide of the mark – as was the assumption that everybody receiving the emails was a 'Dear Labour supporter' as the form of address used on the email claimed.

Many silicon.com readers have pointed the finger at the Big Conversation website which was a public consultation site set up to invite discussion on all aspects of UK policy. The site, while a Labour initiative, was intended to be independent and invited both supporters and opponents of the government to air their views.

However, it appears email addresses were harvested during the sign-up process for that site and those requesting more information were also opting in to receive Labour Party emails.

A statement from the Labour Party said: "The party does not buy external email lists. The Labour Party does not have access to any email addresses other than those supplied to us by individuals who take part in a party activity. All such activity displays that the Labour Party may contact people using the info they supply. This gives individuals a clear awareness that by completing their details they agree that the party may contact them."

The Party insists it is compliant with all EC directives on email marketing.

"As an additional safeguard, the party offers individuals a simple way of requesting that the details are not used and further offers easy unsubscribe facility in every email sent by the party."

Richard Allan, Liberal Democrat MP and recipient of the email despite being far from a Labour supporter, is one who believes he received it after signing up for the Big Conversation website.

He told silicon.com: "Signing up to the consultation website did not mean you were saying that you were a Labour supporter so the email is badly addressed".

It's that form of address which seems to have led many to believe the email was spam. If anything, over-familiarity has been that emails undoing.

If an email arrives in the inbox of somebody who is obviously not the intended recipient – in this case because that person knows they are not a Labour supporter – then it is unsurprising many were quick to brand it spam, given it was so clearly unsolicited, according to Steve Linford from SpamHaus.

Linford told silicon.com: "If it's unsolicited and it is sent out in bulk then it is unsolicited bulk email and that is the very definition of spam."

The issue appears to be 'degrees of separation' between the email arriving in users' inboxes and what they were signing up for at the time.

"If users signed up for information on the Big Conversation then they should only receive information on the Big Conversation," said Linford. "Unless you have signed up for exactly the kind of information you've received it is unsolicited."

The statement from the Labour Party said: "If there are any erroneous instances where someone is contacted and they do not believe they have consented to receiving emails from the party, these will be thoroughly investigated on a case-by-case basis."