AOL, EarthLink, Microsoft and Yahoo file seven spam lawsuits, the companies' second round this year using the federal CAN-SPAM law.
A coalition of the country's leading ISPs on Thursday announced another round of lawsuits against spammers, relying heavily on the CAN-SPAM law enacted earlier this year. In seven federal lawsuits, America Online Inc., EarthLink Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo Inc. are targeting at least 85 purveyors of unsolicited messages, many of which were named as "John Does" because their identity was uncertain.
Each of the lawsuits, filed across four states, allege violations of the federal CAN-SPAM law as well as other state and federal charges. CAN-SPAM took effect in January as way to reduce the amount of unsolicited messages flooding inboxes, though questions remain about its effectiveness. For the first time, AOL went after a newer, and less common, form of spam called "spim." In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court, in Alexandria, Va., AOL sued 20 unidentified defendants for sending unwanted messages through instant messaging services and online chat room, the Dulles, Va., company announced.
News source: eWeek
