A Channel Islands businessman has become the first person in the UK to win a claim for damages against a company that he claims sent him spam. Nigel Roberts, from Alderney and an information systems engineer by profession, made legal history in Britain by successfully suing an email mass marketer. In doing this, he showed that the battle against spammers could be fought not only by the development of better spam filters but also by applying existing laws to gain compensation.

The judge at Colchester County Court responsible for the case ruled in favour of Mr Roberts, who agreed to an out-of court settlement. Media Logistics UK, the Falkirk-based company sued by Mr Roberts, declined to comment, but will have to pay a settlement sum of £270 and the £30 filing costs. This is a relatively small amount due to the fact that the case was presented in a small claims court.

This was the first action brought against UK spammers using European legislation (the EU Directive on Privacy and Electronic Communications). The Directive was passed in 2002 and adopted in Britain in 2003. Although relatively little spam originates in the UK, many UK companies continue to ignore antispam laws. This, however, is due more to inattention than malicious intent, and this first successful court case could sound a warning bell.