Hong Kong plans to enact an anti-spam law next year to crack down on companies that send unsolicited e-mails or make automated telemarketing calls to consumers.

The SAR government has consulted with industry groups to craft a law that would combat junk faxes, e-mails, text messages and telemarketing calls.

Au Man-ho, director-general of the Telecommunications Authority, said in a statement that direct marketing companies using automated calling on an unsolicited basis "can be considered a spam problem."

However, Au said the law — to take effect at an unspecified date in 2006 — would not cover "manually made cold calls" to avoid interfering with normal business activities.

He said the issue still requires public discussion and that the government was working with fixed-line and mobile operators to create a code of practice for telemarketing.

(Xinhua News Agency June 13, 2005)