US Internet Giants Sue Under CAN SPAM Act

by Glen Shapiro, LawAndTax-News.com, New York

12 March 2004

Four of the internet's top firms announced on Wednesday that they are joining forces to go after "the biggest, the baddest, the most notorious spammers".

In the first major US industry action since the CAN SPAM Act came into force in January, America Online (AOL), EarthLink, Microsoft and Yahoo revealed that they have filed lawsuits in federal courts in California, Georgia, Virginia, and Washington State against six firms thought to be principally responsible for the spam that their customers receive.

Speaking to the Associated Press following the launch of the lawsuits, EarthLink assistant general counsel, Les Seagrave explained that although the firms had been forced to identify many of those named in the suits just as 'John Doe':

"We've been doing this a long time, and we know what we're doing. We're only a couple subpoenas away from standing at someone's door and handing them a summons."

Although this is the first major action under the new US anti-spam legislation, the four internet giants were pipped to the post by California-based internet service provider (ISP), Hypertouch, which last week filed a complaint with the US District Court for the Northern District of California, alleging that home improvements site, BobVila.com had violated the CAN SPAM Act.

According to the ISP, the defendants sent Hypertouch and its customers spam e-mail in the form of advertisements with fraudulent headers. It further alleged that the unsolicited mails contained no physical address for the company (a requirement under the new legislation), and that they were sent to randomly generated and harvested addresses, in addition to addresses gathered from the 'opt out' lists created by other spam.

Recommended