The suit is one of a series of lawsuits filed by AOL, Microsoft,
Earthlink and Yahoo!, and is the second time junk e-mail-related
enforcement actions have been filed by the Anti-Spam Alliance,
which was founded in April 2003 and is chiefly led by the four
companies.
The suit also accuses defendants of sending spam e-mails and,
together with another AOL action targeting a spammer peddling
controlled substances, was filed in US federal court in the Eastern
District of Virginia.
Both AOL suits allege violations of the Federal CAN-SPAM law,
the Virginia anti-spam state law, and state common law, and are
based on over two million complaints from the ISP's members.
AOL is seeking injunctions; statutory damages totalling millions
of dollars; and the disgorgement of illegal profits.
"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," said Randall Boe, Executive
Vice President and General Counsel of AOL.
"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," Boe
added.
Microsoft, EarthLink and Yahoo! have also been suing alleged
spammers.
