America Online, Earthlink, Microsoft, and Yahoo have filed new lawsuits against accused spammers in Virginia, Georgia, Washington state, and California, including at least one alleged porn spammer.
All the suits were filed under the federal CAN-SPAM Act, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, and California's Computer Crime Statute, as well as civil conspiracy law.
The alleged porn spammer is Yahoo's target. The popular portal and e-mail provider hit the East Coast Exotic Entertainment Group and Epoth LLC, accusing them of hiding their identities, designing messages to end-run spam filters, and using sexually explicit subject lines to spam sexually-oriented e-mail.
"With today's lawsuit against East Coast Exotics Entertainment Group, Inc. and Epoth LLC, we are holding spammers directly accountable for unlawfully disguising their identity and using this practice to deceive e-mail users," said Yahoo senior vice president and general counsel Mike Callahan. "Consumers trust Yahoo! to provide a safe and secure experience, which is why we take an aggressive, multi-faceted approach to protect e-mail users through legal efforts, industry collaboration and technological enhancements."
AOL targeted John Does including the first known suit against a “spimmer” – someone targeting spam to instant messaging and chat rooms and mobile phones.
AOL executive vice president Randall Boe said AOL would continue attacking spammers without letup. "AOL and our members continue to make spam-fighting a priority, and we continue to use the legal process on their behalf to help put a lid on the worst, most active spammers – no matter where they are, or how they send their unwanted junk," he said. "This means pursuing spammers who are either using new platforms, such as instant messaging or chat rooms, or those who are peddling junk to our members abroad, such as Europe or Canada, or pursuing spammers who are advertising dangerous drugs."
EarthLink's suit targets a pack of John Does the Internet service provider accuses of using deceptive and illegal e-mail to push prescription drugs without legitimate prescriptions as well as low mortgage and loan rate schemes, often trying to gather and re-sell customer names and contact information.
"Enforcement actions against spammers, including litigation and cooperation with our industry peers, continues to be an important component in the fight against spam," said EarthLink chief privacy officer Les Seagraves, whose company has filed one of the new suits, with Microsoft filing three, AOL filing two, and Yahoo also filing one.
"EarthLink's legal efforts to stop spam have helped put spammers out of business, and, in the case of Howard Carmack, have shown that there are real criminal consequences for sending illegal junk e-mails. We remain committed to using the law, along with technical solutions, consumer education and legislative support, to stop the flow of spam and enhance the Internet experience for all users."
Microsoft's three lawsuits targeted alleged spoofers of domains of Microsoft, AOL, EarthLink, and Yahoo, using open proxies to rout the spam that pushed herbal growth supplements, mortgage services, and other get-rich-quick schemes.
“Collectively, these four [companies] continue to change the economics of spam by identifying and targeting top alleged spammers,” said Microsoft Internet safety enforcement attorney Aaron Kornblum. “Microsoft alone has supported more than 100 legal actions worldwide, including 75 lawsuits in the United States, against those who strain our consumers’ inboxes with unwanted and deceptive email, many carrying and transmitting malicious code, spyware and links to phishing sites.”
These four companies bonded in 2003 to hit the spammers where it hurts, and the lawsuits announced this week are the second round they've taken since April 2003.
M.J. McMahon contributed to this report.
