Major ISPs unite in spam fight

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Major ISPs unite in = spam fight

By Marguerite Reardon
Staff Writer, CNET News.com

Story last modified March 10, 2004, 10:14 AM PST

America Online, Microsoft, EarthLink and Yahoo have teamed up to file the first major industry lawsuits under the new federal antispam law. =

Citing the Can-Spam Act, the companies filed the combined six lawsuits against hundreds of defendants in federal courts in California, Georgia, Virginia and Washington state. The complaints charge the defendants with sending hundreds of millio= ns of bulk e-mail messages to customers of the four networks.

In the complaints, the companies claim that the accused spammers have sent deceptive solicitations= for a variety of products, including get-rich-quick schemes, prescription drugs, pornography, instructions for conducting spam campaigns, banned CDs, mortga= ge loans, university diplomas, cable descramblers and other common types of unsolicited e-mail.

They a= lso claim that the defendants have used open proxies, which send spam through third-party computers to disguise their point of origin, and used false "from" e-mail addresses. They claim the e-mails were sent without physical addresses. And the messages failed to include an electronic unsubscribe option. Each allegation is a violation of the Can-Spam law.

U.S. Senators Conrad = Burns, R-Mont., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who wrote the Can-Spam Act, applauded the lawsuits.

"Today’s f= iling proves that the days of spamming with impunity are finally over," Wyden said in a statement. "These suits will have to be settled in a court of law, but I believe this action marks the dawn of a new day for spammers--on= e in which they face real accountability."

Can-Spam was passed i= n late 2003 to help regul= ate spam by threatening various forms of punishment, including possible pri= son sentences, against individuals and companies responsible for sending unsoli= cited e-mail. The law does not give individuals the right to sue. Only Internet service providers and government officials = can file suit.

These are not the fir= st suits to be filed. Earlier this month, Internet service provider H= ypertouch filed a lawsuit in California, accusing BVWebTies, the company that owns and operates BobVila.com, and one of its partners, BlueStream Media, of breaching guidelines of the Can-Spam Act.

So far, the Can-Spam = law has done little to discourage spammers. A study released in February found that only 3 percent of bulk commercial e-mail included a valid U.S. postal mail address for the sender and a link to opt = out of future messages, as required by the federal mandate. <= /p>