A Netizen who tried stopping a travel Website he said had spammed him despite entreaties and threats has filed a motion to dismiss a $4 million SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) suit by the site, over company images and “personal insults” on the Netizen’s protest Website.
Mark Mumma had complained that Cruise.com sent him spam between late December and mid-January, and tried everything from talking to parent company Omega World Travel’s legal counsel to threatening to collect the fines under CAN-SPAM and other regulations he believed he was owed for the spam.
At first, according to published reports, Mumma was left with an impression that the company would remove his address from their lists, but Mumma claimed he continued receiving Cruise.com spam, leading to more talks with Omega and more threats of court action.
That led to the SLAPP suit, in which Omega claims Mumma violated their trademark and copyright by using images of company founders and a company logo on his protest Website, as well as defaming individuals tied to the company by posting “personal insults” on the site.
“The general idea (behind a SLAPP suit),” says computer news site Ars Technica, “is to silence critics by dropping a massive suit on them, and watching them run off with tail firmly planted between legs.” The site said Mumma also received Cruise.com spam the day after he was hit with the SLAPP suit.
Unlike CAN-SPAM’s mandate of an opt-out mechanism, Cruise.com actually uses the opt-in mechanism which CAN-SPAM critics argued was vital for the law to have real teeth—and Mumma has argued that he never opted in and, therefore, should not be required to opt out, as Omega is believed to be arguing in their suit.
Mumma has also said that opting out might well increase his chances of getting more spam.
But Mumma may have left himself prone to retaliation by, reportedly, demanding $6,000 as a settlement over the original spam, and allegedly threatening to set a trap to nail spammers, though Ars Technica suggested that could indicate nothing more drastic than tracking and documenting Cruise.com carefully.
