Tanaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment Mary Harney has signed regulations to bring into effect the provisions of an EU directive on electronic commerce.
The new rules provide for the free movement of certain services within the European Economic Area (the EU plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway). The rules cover services, as distinct from products, provided online between one member state and another.
Under the regulations, service providers who comply with the rules and regulations of their own member state do not have to comply with the rules for that service laid down by another member state to which they might be supplying the service.
The rules require people sending unsolicited commercial e-mails, or 'spam', to ensure that these are clearly identifiable by the recipient.
