AOL Lawyer: More Anti-Spam Lawsuits Likely By Consortium
A consortium of four top e-mail providers filed six lawsuits against hundreds of alleged spammers, using a new federal law meant to toughen penalties for sending unwanted commercial mail that went into effect this year.
The group, made up of Earthlink Inc. (ELNK), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), Time Warner Inc.'s (TWX) America Online division and Yahoo Inc. (YHOO), says those sued represent "some of the nation's most notorious large-scale spammers."
The group said it filed lawsuits Tuesday in federal courts in California, Georgia, Virginia and Washington state.
At a press conference Wednesday, group members hinted that more suits would likely follow as they seek to staunch the flood of unsolicited e-mail surging across the Internet.
Spam "threatens to destroy one of the most important communications mediums of our time," said Les Seagraves , Earthlink's chief privacy officer and assistant general counsel. The anti-spam industry group Earthlink created along with Microsoft, AOL and Yahoo aims to prevent that, he added.
E-mail providers have for years filed lawsuits to block spam - efforts that have been largely fruitless. But these new actions cite a new federal law, the Controlling the Assault of Non-Soliticited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003, which became effective Jan. 1.
CAN-SPAM, as the act is known, gives these lawsuits "added punch," AOL general counsel Randall Boe said during the press conference.
Members of the anti-spam group pooled resources as they tracked down spammers to build their case, he said, This collaboration will make these lawsuits, as opposed to those filed in the past, succeed, he argued.
"If you're a spammer, this is not a great day for you," he said.
Spammers mask their identities, something illegal under CAN-SPAM, but the anti-spam consortium is sifting through this obfuscation, Boe said. "Ultimately, we're going to find you and sue you."
反垃圾邮件联盟起诉垃圾邮件发送者
由4家大型电子邮件服务商组成的联盟日前援引一部新的联邦法律向数百名垃圾邮件发送者提起了6宗诉讼。这部自今年起生效的法律加大了对垃圾商业电子邮件发送者的处罚。
诉讼联盟表示，受到指控的这些被告是全美最臭名昭著的一些垃圾邮件发送者。该诉讼联盟成员包括Earthlink Inc. (ELNK)、微软(Microsoft Corp., MSFT)、时代华纳公司(Time Warner Inc)旗下的美国在线(America Online, AOL)和雅虎公司(Yahoo! Inc., YHOO)。
该联盟称，它已于周二向加利福尼亚州、佐治亚州、弗吉尼亚州和华盛顿州的联邦法院提交了诉状。
诉讼联盟成员在周三的新闻发布会上暗示称，为遏制垃圾邮件在互联网上的肆意蔓延，未来可能还将提起更多诉讼。
Earthlink首席隐私长兼助理总顾问Les Seagraves说，垃圾邮件已对今天这个时代最重要的交流媒介形成了毁灭性威胁。他说，由Earthlink、微软、美国在线和雅虎组成的反垃圾邮件联盟的宗旨就是要防止这种威胁。
