The+Privacy+and+Electronic

The Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003

//The Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) regulations 2003 //

In the United Kingdom, The Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) regulations 2003 is a law which was created for the purpose to stop transmitting an automated message which is intended to market a product or service via the use of telephone without the permission of the person receiving the call

In the US they have a very similar law but instead of just covering telephone, but instead of just phone calls it also includes email and text messages.

If these laws are broken then the business that sent these messages can be sued.

This law was introduced to ensure that voice transitions that are pre-recorded are not sent to the mass market via a directory of phone numbers without people who have not given their permission to do so; this ensures that the consumer has more protection against. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7619472.stm
 * http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7619472.stm