Spurred on by spammers who had threatened to make public the email addresses of 5 million America Online members if the online service provider didn't lift its spam ban by Thursday, AOL said this morning it has filed suit against three junk email firms.
AOL, which called the demands of the self-proclaimed National Organization of Internet Commerce "cyber-terrorism," had threatened legal action when the group said last week that it would make public 1 million email addresses. The spammers then upped the ante to 5 million, before backing down after AOL members voiced a heated protest.
AOL filed its suit in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. AOL is seeking an injunction to keep the spammers from cramming the in-boxes of its 10 million members with unsolicited junk mail, as well as monetary damages "well into the seven figures," said George Vradenburg, AOL general counsel.
TSF Marketing, whose executive Joe Melle is also president of the threat-wielding National Organization of Internet Commerce, is one of the companies named in the suit. Others include Gulf Coast Marketing and IMS.
AOL sent letters to the companies in October and November asking them to stop sending mass emails to its members - but they kept right on spamming, said Vradenburg. AOL has been planning a lawsuit for some weeks now, Vradenburg said, and the threats from the National Organization of Internet Commerce only reinforced the company's resolve.
"We'll continue to bring these suits until the people who spam our members stop," Vradenburg said.
The suit charges the defendants with computer fraud and abuse, and the equivalent of trespassing. AOL has also added a charge of illegal "harvesting" of email addresses to its list of complaints against TSF Marketing.
AOL recently won a court order barring another spam company - Over the Air Equipment - from sending junk email to its members. The spammer also agreed to pay damages to AOL.
Vradenburg said the courts have recognized the legitimacy of computer fraud and abuse and trespassing charges in three cases so far: the Over the Air case, and in separate suits brought against Cyber Promotions by AOL and Compuserve.
In the current case, AOL argues that the companies not only did not stop sending junk mail after being asked, but found a way around the company's spam filters.
