This week Microsoft has launched two legal actions in Britain against distributors of unsolicited junk email as part of a global attempt to halt the spam epidemic.

A spokeswoman for the DTI told ePolitix.com: "Nobody wants to be bombarded with badly targeted unsolicited email advertising, otherwise known as spam."The DTI consultation on proposals to crack down on unwanted emails and strengthen privacy rights for electronic communications has just closed. The aim of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive is to give control back to the customer. Individuals will have greater control over how their details are used - who can contact them and for what.

"The Directive will set a clear framework for tackling spam, but regulation is only part of the solution. Industry also has a part to play in developing more sophisticated anti-spam software and educating consumers on how to deal with unsolicited communications. Internet and mobile technologies have revolutionised the way we communicate with each other. Spam, unwanted SMS and other unacceptable marketing tools must not be allowed to jeopardise this."

Forum Response: Counsel and Care

Martin Green, chief executive of Counsel and Care, told ePolitix.com: "Email spam is a growing menace that takes time and resources to sort and discard and that clogs up systems and I hope that the government will stamp down on it.

"All the data protection legislation that is sometimes such a hindrance to charities seems to have done absolutely nothing to stop spam."

Forum Response: Federation of Small Businesses

Peter Scargill, FSB IT chairman, told ePolitix.com: "The FSB welcomes Microsoft's action against spammers.

"With at least 50 per cent of email falling into this category, businesses are sick and tired of unsolicited mail. As the majority of spam comes from the USA, the government must work alongside other governments and in particular the Americans to ensure that spammers can be tracked and punished no matter where they are."

Forum Response: Mutuo

Oliver Fry, communications manager for Mutuo, told ePolitix.com: "We are constantly bombarded by spam. Despite the presence of a fire wall it still causes problems in that it acts as a distraction and clogs up our email system."

Forum Response: Vauxhall

A spokesman for Vauxhall told ePolitix.com: "Vauxhall would welcome any considered government action to limit the use of spam.

"Spam is a problem for all modern businesses as these messages take up valuable time to review within the workplace."

Forum Response: Guide Dogs for the Blind Association

Matt Grainger, public affairs manager at the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, told ePolitix.com: "There are a number of concerns which the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association has concerning email spam, not least of which is the waste of resources involved in unclogging servers and sorting out in boxes.

"Our resources are entirely donated by the public and money spent on dealing with spam is money that we are prevented from spending on providing services to blind and partially sighted people.

"And, the vast majority of spam, particularly those messages which automatically link to websites, is inaccessible to blind and partially sighted computer users. They have to go to great lengths to discover what these emails say, only to find out that they are unwanted, irrelevant or, in some cases, offensive.

"In addition, spam damages the reputation of legitimate email-based marketing and develops a cynicism amongst email users towards any commercial application.

"For a charity like guide dogs, email offers a cheap and potentially effective marketing tool, but if spam leads to all unsolicited email being deleted before it is read, electronic marketing will become redundant. It is in the e-marketing industry's interest to put its own house in order if it wants to retain its ability to communicate with its audiences."

Forum Response: Institute of Directors

A spokesman for the IoD told ePolitix.com: ""The proliferation of spam email is doing immense damage to UK businesses.

"Not only is it absorbing costs, time and resources it is also destroying the possibility of email being used as a genuine marketing too. It is essential that the spamers are put out of business for good."