The government is planning a clampdown on e-mail spam, demanding that companies obtain consumers' permission before sending them marketing material via the internet.
Unsolicited e-mails form roughly 40% of the world's messaging traffic. Ranging from special offers to hardcore pornography, spam is a daily nuisance for internet users and the companies that connect people and businesses to the world wide web.
Under the government's proposals, which will be open to consultation from today, consumers will have to give their consent before receiving such e-mail, effectively outlawing spam.
Companies breaking the law could face unlimited fines. The government's information commissioner will be able to investigate organisations or individuals it believes are using spam while consumers can sue for damages.
The powers are based on a new European Union directive, which comes into force at the end of October, so will only cover the EU. E-commerce minister Stephen Timms, however, believes the new regulations are a step in the right direction and will allow companies to make better use of electronic communications.
"Obviously this is about protecting consumers - we want them to feel confident about using new technologies - but it is also about the industry itself being able to use the technology properly to build legitimate businesses."
As well as e-mail spam, the directive on privacy and electronic communications covers internet cookies. These are electronic tags placed on a user's computer when they visit a website. They allow companies to calculate how many individuals are accessing their site and play a vital role in attracting online advertising.
Under the government's proposals, however, websites will have to provide information about the cookies they want to send and offer consumers the opportunity to reject them. The move is likely to be a further blow to the fledgling internet advertising industry which has been in turmoil since the dotcom crash three years ago.
The proposals also ban the sending of unsolicited text messages. In addition, mobile phone users will have to opt-in to services which make use of the ability of mobile networks to pinpoint a caller's location.