New laws in Britain make sending spam to private people illegal. Anyone caught sending the unwanted e-mails face fines unless permission from the recipient had been given.

The fines come from the EU Privacy and Electronic Communications regulations, and the sending of the spam carries a maximum fine of £5000 ($8720).

The British government say the laws are a "step in the right direction", but the fines have been criticised by many. "This is a bargain for spammers ... Some of them make £20,000 to £30,000 per week," Steve Linford, from The Spamhaus Project, said.

Source

Go UK! Socialism finally does something right :p I'm tired of getting 20 emails a day saying crap like "Watch brittney spears get in on with a mailman and a donkey at the same time"