The U.K. government and ISPs are doing little to tackle spam, according to the annual report from the Office of the Information Commissioner (ICO), according to a VNUnet piece in the E-Commerce Times. Apparently, no action was taken regarding the 600 spam complaints that the ICO had received in the previous 12 months. Thee ICO claimed that it lacks the necessary powers to pursue and prosecute spammers. It advises users to seek advice from their ISPs.

"This problem is not going to go away until the government gives spam laws real teeth. If the Office of Fair Trading can close down a business, why not the ICO? [In the meantime,] I recommend that users choose an ISP with good anti-spam technology in place," Jamie Cowper, senior consultant at messaging firm Mirapoint, is quoted as saying.

Most U.K. ISPs offer anti-spam solutions as an added service, charging 1-2 pounds ($1.76-3.51) per month, per user.