Saturday, 25. January 2003

Judge Rules Against Spammer

A New York court ordered a spammer to stop telling customers they asked for their e-mail.

Manhattan Superior Court Justice Lottie Wilkins permanently enjoined MonsterHut from falsely representing that it had obtained permission to e-mail consumers, following a lawsuit by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer in May.

The suit charged that MonsterHut sent more than half a billion spam e-mails since March 2001, claiming recipients had opted in to receive them. More than 750,000 people asked to be removed from the e-mail lists.

The court rejected MonsterHut's argument that it was not liable for the misrepresentation since it purchased the e-mail addresses from third parties that MonsterHut believed acquired the names through an opt-in process. A hearing is scheudled for Feb. 11 to set civil penalites, damages and restitution.

In an earlier spam lawsuit, America Online was awarded $7 million in damages in a spam lawsuit. [TechWeb: Security]
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