July 14, 1999 Web posted at: 12:29 p.m. EDT (1629 GMT) by Mary Lisbeth D'Amico

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MUNICH (IDG) -- A proposed amendment to Austria's telecommunications law that would essentially outlaw spam could be signed into law as early as this week.

The amendment is on the agenda for discussion by the Austrian Parliament on Thursday, according to information posted on the Web site of the Austrian Parliament.

Austria's Justice Committee last week recommended that the country's Parliament amend the law with a provision that would make it illegal to send unsolicited electronic mail, also called spam, without the specific consent of the recipient. If passed, the law would be one of Europe's strictest against spam.

Both Internet user groups and service providers heavily lobbied the Committee to support the ban.

One such group, VIBE, which represents Austrian Internet users, was told by the Austrian Chamber of Labor that there are excellent chances that the amendment will pass, according to Ingo Liessegang, head of the user group. The Austrian Chamber of Labor is an official body that represents the rights of Austrian employees, and, under Austrian Law, has a say in legislative decisions.