Taiwan�s spammers rank a solid #5, and there appears to be no regulation to stop them in the foreseeable future.
Taiwan�s prolific amount of spam has already been vocally blocked by anti-spam efforts. Critics claim the largest ISP, HINET, places no restrictions on outgoing traffic at all, flooding foreign mailboxes. In Taiwan, one in three emails was estimated to be spam in 2003, but this number is artificially low because of ISP level filters. ISPs blame careless Taiwanese users for leaking their email addresses.
As regional regulations increase, pressure is growing on the Taiwanese government to follow international efforts to stop spam. It seems that most pressure though is coming from inside lobbying. For example, Shay & Partners, a Taiwanese firm specializing in telecommunications, seems to be lobbying heavily for extreme regulations. It makes the following radical claims:
In Taiwan, most spam is already illegal. Spam containing fraudulent content is illegal under Taiwan's Civil Code and Criminal Code. Spam with false or misleading subject lines or routing information violates the Fair Trade Law, which prohibits false designation of origin. If the routing information falsely indicates that a particular ISP delivered the spam, an action may be filed under Taiwan's Trademark Law, which prohibits use of a mark that is likely to confuse consumers regarding the source of goods or services. When spam is sent from an ISP in violation of that company's terms of use, this constitutes breach of contract. The above is admittedly speculation, because no Taiwan court has yet decided any lawsuit regarding the sending of spam, but it difficult to fathom why those laws would not apply as stated.
If this kind of severe spam enforcement seemed as obvious to Taiwan�s courts as it does to Shay & Partners, Taiwan would certainly not need any spam regulations. As an alternative, Shay & Partners proposes sweeping, poorly defined legislation containing opt-in requirements and ADV and ADLT labels. Shay & Partners helpfully suggests a fine level at $100 per message or $100,000 per day-- plus attorney fees, of course. The longer report is
here.
There is no reason to believe spam legislation will be implemented by Taiwan any time in the near future.
For other countries, see the Spam Laws Worldwide Index.