COMPANIES that send unsolicited emails and text messages are now liable for fines of up to €250,000 or could lose 10% of their turnover.

A new regulation has been introduced by Eamon Ryan, the communications minister, making the sending of spam an indictable offence in Ireland for the first time. Previously offenders were prosecuted in the District Court where the maximum fine was €3,000.

While most email spam received by Irish people comes from outside the country, the ministerial directive strengthens the power of the authorities to crack down on the growing problem of unsolicited text messages being sent from within the Republic.

The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) received 390 complaints last year about “spam”, chiefly unsolicited text messages. In 2005, there were only 66 complaints. Tony Delaney, assistant commissioner, said the legislation was an “important new weapon” in the war on spam.

“Now the commissioner will be able to prosecute serious or persistent offenders in the Circuit or High Court, in some cases in front of a jury,” he said. “Many of the chief offenders in Ireland are multi-million euro offenders, so the power to seize turnover will be a huge deterrent.”

Ryan introduced the regulation in time for Christmas, when the number of unsolicited text messages usually rises. “A lot of companies sending out these messages use events such as Christmas or Valentine’s Day to mislead people into replying to texts, and unwittingly sign up for premium services,” Delaney said.

Mobile-phone users must now “opt in” for a company to contact them. “If you don’t agree to be contacted, then it is an offence to contact you,” Delaney said. “Opt in” agreements can now only last a year. “Within that period a company must contact you to request that you extend this “‘opt in’ phase,” he said.

In 2007, the ODPC raided a number of companies that it suspected were sending unsolicited text messages. It later issued more than 300 summonses to a number of defendants.

Realm Communications, run by Tom Higgins, the owner of premium-rate fortune-telling phone lines, is currently facing prosecution on 60 summonses arising from complaints made by 14 people concerning unsolicited text messages.

The ODPC successfully prosecuted Clarion Marketing Limited last month for sending unsolicited text messages. The company was fined €2,000.

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