When email spam first hit the World Wide Web as a form of online marketing, nobody knew quite what to do. Internet Service Providers started taking their own steps in blacklisting known or suspected spammers, but even this wasn’t enough; spammers either found a way through or found another ISP. Eventually, the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 was enacted in the United States; the nation’s first bill of its kind. Again, however, this was not enough to put an end to spam, and those who criticize the act claim that it helps spammers more than hurting them. In fact, many people believe that spam laws should be much stricter here in the United States. And this leaves me with the question, which countries have the strictest spam laws?

Well, judging by the amount of court cases that have been successfully prosecuted, it appears the United States actually has some of the strictest spam laws. In fact, some convicted spammers here have been charged hundreds of thousands of dollars – and in some more prolific cases, millions. There have been some pretty stiff prison sentences handed out as well in the United States, and some spammers have suddenly found themselves sitting in a prison for several years.

Europe, The UK, and New Zealand all have rather strict spam laws when compared to other countries, and more recently Israel has made its debut on the list of countries with the strictest spam laws. According to a new law passed in 2008, those who receive unsolicited commercial e-mails can actually sue the spammer – something that can’t be done in the United States.