strict new laws in Spain

[Jimmy]

very interesting read for all europeans - espeically in spain!

[cnn.com...]

[Fairla]

The problem with this is the definition of a "commercial" website. It's a mistake to require people who do not personally collect any money or information from visitors to reveal their names and addresses to the world. What does this accomplish, aside from exposing them to danger, particularly women?

I have only affiliate links on my site. I don't collect any info from visitors or take their credit card numbers or anything else from them. I just provide information and links. My site has an innocent topic (history related), but something about it attracts weirdos and I sometimes get disturbing letters. One very disturbed man left repeated messages in my guestbook about his fascination with serial killers and how he felt my site was sending him secret messages. I've also received a few outright threats. If I were required to divulge my name and address on the site, I would have to shut down for my own safety. Thank God I don't live in Spain, is all I can say.

[WebManager]

I'm in the UK, and now get an absurd amount of Spam e-mail from Spain - never had this before. Could there be a connection?

[heini]

Hi Fairla
I understand your concern here. It has to be said though that on every print publication you have to provide full contact info etc. In fact this is perhaps the core of the matter: The new European regulation, especially as interpreted by the Spanish authorities understand internet in a very similar fashoin as normal business and publishing.

[Fairla]

Well, one difference is that you have to pay to buy a magazine. Whereas anyone in the world can visit my website for free. The business models are not really all that similar.

I make a very modest amount of money encouraging visitors to buy products on behalf of bigger websites. My role is akin to that of a sales clerk in a department store. I help the customer find what he needs. A sales clerk is not required to pass out business cards with her name and address. If this were the law, it would become dangerous for women to work in department stores. And obviously, far more potentially dangerous people will pass through a website over time than through any store.

There is truly no way I can defraud anyone since I do not take any money or personal information from those who visit my website. I don't even use cookies. The companies that give me money know my identity, and if I do anything inappropriate, customers can complain to those companies. So consumers are at no risk from me, but let's be realistic -- I am very much at risk if every person in the world has easy access to my name and address.

I'm sure this was not the intent of the law, but since it applies to anyone who makes any money from a website site in any way -- this is a very unfortunate consequence.

[1Lit]

"This law is a huge blow to freedom of expression in Spain," said Kriptopolis lawyer Carlos Sanchez Almeida.

Load of rubbish. Why is that 'freedom of expression' is raised everybody anybody tries to regulate that hot-bed of sin and depravity, the internet (and before you say it isn't check your email account to see the number of sick emails/observe the top search terms in any search engine).

It's a positive step. Internet is over-run by illegal and immoral MLM/Network Marketing/Porn merchants. Even the mainstream companies are fraudulent. Every webmaster in the UK is aware of a number of online stores belonging to multi-million pound companies which promise deliver within three days but 60% of the time don't. I've tested their service repeatedly for four years as part of an online survey for a website and they continue not to be abide by their promise. They know they can't deliver in that time frame but continue to boast about it to hook customers in.

We need regulation. No regulation and the online world will (has) become the equivalent of Johannesburg/parts of urban America.