Posted on 01/11/2005 10:50:59 AM PST by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON - The Federal Trade Commission said Tuesday it won a court order to shut down illegal advertising for six companies accused of profiting from thousands of X-rated e-mails directing people to their online pornography sites in the government's first legal case involving adult Internet spam.
A federal judge in Las Vegas on Jan. 5 granted the commission's request for a restraining order against the companies, their executives and an affiliate for allegedly violating federal laws governing commercial electronic mail, commonly known as spam. The FTC on Tuesday will seek a permanent injunction shutting down the network's illegal e-mail ads.
It's the first time the agency has taken legal action under a rule that requires a label in the subject line of sexually explicit e-mails. The law also holds others liable for operating Web sites that benefit from fraudulent pornographic spam.
"It's not just the people who push the buttons to send spam" who are liable, said Eileen Harrington, director of the FTC's marketing practices division.
The Nevada companies named in the FTC complaint were Global Net Solutions Inc., Open Space Enterprises Inc., Southlake Group Inc., and WTFRC Inc., which does business as Reflected Networks Inc. Also named in the complaint were Global Net Ventures Ltd., of London and Wedlake Ltd., which the FTC said is reportedly based in Riga, Latvia.
The executives of those companies were named in the complaint along with an individual, Paul Rose. The FTC said Rose sent hundreds of thousands of illegal spam e-mails directing recipients to the sites operated by the companies named in the filing.
Among other alleged violations, the e-mails did not include the required "SEXUALLY EXPLICIT" warning in the subject line, falsely promised free membership to the Web sites and prevented recipients from stopping the unwanted e-mails.
Those requirements are part of the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003, dubbed "Can Spam." Spammers who violate the rule face possible imprisonment and criminal fines of up to $250,000 for individuals and $500,000 for an organization.
Tracking down violators can be difficult because spammers often try to escape being directly identified by using forged return addresses or by bouncing their e-mails through unprotected relay computers on the Internet.
Harrington said the agency located the companies and individuals through e-mails consumers sent the FTC's data base in the spring. The defendants, who she said operate as one entity, are barred by the court action from sending out spam but are permitted to operate the web sites involved.
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On the Net:
Federal Trade Commission: http://www.ftc.gov
No the goverment should NOT get involved with the internet. Then, they have the right to tax and limit it.
What they ought to do, is something about those damn pop up ads! It's bad enough when I'm surfing for free porn at work and all of a sudden eight full screen pop ups shoot up and I'm madly trying to click them shut while I see a co-worker headed to my cage out of the corner of my eye.
But the worst is the delayed ones. I think everything is hunky-dorey, having just bookmarked a new free porn site and then 45 minutes later I've got my back to my monitor, talking to my boss, when a look of horror comes over her face- the look of horror you see only on the face of a professional woman who's just seen a porn actress copulating with a horse.
It hasn't come up in my review yet, but I've gotta think that's not good for my career path.
”Guns Before Butter.”
LOL!
You're bad...
keep the gov't off of the net... spam is a private sector problem and it has a private sector solution.
Yeah like that will reduce spam .0000000015346% for a day or two.
LOL! Blame it on a virus!
SUX to be you, ROFL! Blackbird.
It's about time these morons (the unsolicited porn spammers) get shut down. If people want to see a giant schlong when they open their email app, let them *ask* for it.
ROFL!
No kidding. They don't send spam for the fun of it. They do it for Money. To stop spam the advertisers need to pay enough fines that they insist their marketers avoid spammers like a plague (as is done with the donotcall telemarketer list).
Whazza matter?!?!?! Doesn't she believe in diversity?
Well the war on drugs was a smashing success so why not....
Don't get me wrong I'd love to see an end put to it but I think the internet is a little hard to control that way.
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