Attorney General Mike Cox is bringing the actions under the State's Child Protection Registry Act which requires email senders to check the registry to remove children's email addresses before sending messages advertising goods or services that children cannot legally buy.
Last week's charges against RR Media of California and Data Stream Group of Florida are the first of their kind in the country and may subject the spammers to a fine of up to $10,000 and other penalties.
"The internet – especially email and instant messaging – is a favourite vehicle for spammers and sexual predators to solicit children to buy harmful products, view pornographic images, and, worst of all, become targets of predatory activity," said Cox. "I will continue to utilise all the tools available under the law to protect Michigan children from these menaces."
The "Protect MI Child Registry" allows parents and others to submit email addresses, instant message addresses, and other electronic contact points to which children in Michigan have access to the Michigan Public Service Commission, which administers the registry.
The law prohibits sending email to a registered address with content in the email that advertises anything a minor is prohibited from doing, viewing, or using, such as alcohol, tobacco, gambling, and pornography.
The law requires senders of this type of email to electronically scrub their mailing lists against the registry, eliminating the registered e-mail addresses from mailing lists. Michigan and Utah are the only states that have adopted a registry law.
The prosecution was triggered by complaints from parents of children who received the adult spam despite their details being properly registered.
