Data safety rules failing to quell spam, say web users

NEW data protection rules have failed to give people more control over how many junk emails they receive, a study has found.

One in five British internet users told Nesta, a research charity, that they had received more spam since the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was introduced across Europe in May.

According to the report, 60per cent thought they had no more control over how many junk emails they received.

Of the 2,000 people surveyed, about 22per cent said amount of spam had increased since the rules came into force, and only 7per cent said they received no marketing emails. People aged 16-24 age were most likely to say they had lost control of their in-boxes, while over-55s tended to report no change.

The GDPR law was introduced as a set of standards for how companies could gather and use the data of EU citizens, requiring organisations to reveal what information they were hold-