HONG KONG (AFP) - Hong Kong spammers will face big fines and a long jail terms under a new law to control unsolicited advertising, officials said Monday.
A new ordinance in the southern Chinese city will regulate all messages sent by electronic means that advertise or promote goods or services, including faxes, emails, SMS text and pre-recorded voice messages.
Violators could be fined up to one million Hong Kong dollars (128,000 US) and face up to five years in jail.
Deputy Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology Marion Lai said the ordinance will be implemented in two phases, with the first phase coming into effect Friday.
The measure bans messages to addresses obtained through a "dictionary" or "brute force" attacks, which automatically generate possible recipients, or through software which searches the Internet for addresses.
Those who hack into computers to send commercial messages will face up to 10 years imprisonment, she said.
The ban includes pre-recorded voice messages to telephones with calling line identification withheld, Lai said.