Microsoft Files 15 Lawsuits Against Spammers In U.S., U.K.

At a press conference at Microsoft headquarters Tuesday, Microsoft Senior Vice President and General Counsel Brad Smith said the software giant filed 12 civil cases in Washington state, one in California and two in the United Kingdom based on the state of Washington's strong antispam law.

"Spam is a growing problem and a global problem," said Smith during the conference, noting that getting legal enforcements against spammers is the company's latest step in a multifaceted, international cooperative effort designed to slow the spread of spam. "It's a global problem and requires a global solution. We are ramping up our efforts to combat around the world."

In addition to forming business partnerships with AOL and Yahoo to combat spam, Microsoft has formed international partnerships with law enforcement agencies all over the globe and intends to bring legal cases against those who send deceptive spam designed to defraud consumers and businesses.

Smith was joined at the press conference by Washington State Attorney General Christine Gregoire, Microsoft Europe CEO Jean-Philippe Courtois and Iain Bourne, strategic policy manager at the Information Commissioner's Office of the U.K. Data Protection Authority.

Gregoire said spam has rocketed to the top of the list of consumer complaints in Washington and that her office will use the state's antispam and consumer privacy laws to economically cripple offenders.

While noting that her chief concerns are around the financial and social costs to consumers stemming from deceptive and pornographic spam, Gregoire said spam is costing businesses $9 billion per year and "threatens the credibility of legitimate e-commerce."

Gregoire echoed Microsoft's tough stance, emphasizing that she intends to economically cripple alleged violators using the state's antispam law.

"We must get tough on spammers. These lawsuits are the kinds of actions we need to put illegal spammers out of business," Gregoire said during the press conference. "It's obvious our delete key won't solve this problem. We need to make life tough on spammers. Spammers need to defend themselves in court and face significant legal challenges."

Washington was the second state to enact an anti-spam law. Currently, 27 states have antispam legislation enacted. Microsoft's Smith encouraged ISPs in each state to file lawsuits to combat spammers and added that Microsoft will vigorously work with the FTC and other agencies to enact federal legislation to stop spammers.

As part of its investigation leading to the current set of lawsuits, Microsoft traversed 24 countries and enlisted the aid of state and federal law enforcement agencies that have in the past helped it nail companies and individuals who sell pirated or counterfeit Microsoft software.

In an hour-long press conference, Smith said the 15 alleged spammers illegally sent 2 billion unsolicited e-mail messages to its MSN and HotMail customers in Washington state.

Twelve of the 15 lawsuits were filed on June 16 and June 17 in King County Superior Court, Washington, against: E-Mail Gold, Dayton, Ohio; The E-Offer Store, Haddonfield, N.J.; Giantlinks and PlanetClick Holding Companies, New York; Global Media, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; Interweb Hosting, Pittsburgh; RHC Direct, Murray, Utah; Rockin Time Holdings, Miami; TranzAct Media, New York; VMS and Proform4Life, Port Richey, Fla; XPays, San Francisco; and 20 "John Does" in Chardon, Ohio, that allegedly run a large-scale adult spamming operation through a hosting company owned by Isolate Networks, and Isolnet Hosting.

Microsoft also said it intends to aggressively pursue companies that move their spam businesses overseas to avoid prosecution, Smith said.

To that extent, the vendor filed a case in the U.S. District Court, Central District of California, against PointCom, Encino, Calif.; Joshuathan Investments, a foreign entity that uses an address in Belize; John Does 1-20, of Canoga Park, Calif., and Belize City, Belize.

Microsoft also filed lawsuits against two "John Does" in the United Kingdom in the Royal Courts of Justice, London, for issuing large-volume attacks against Microsoft servers in an attempt to access 3 million e-mail addresses and harvest them for future spam messages.

Solution providers said they view spam as a major headache for their customers and themselves. One solution provider, Phoenix-based ITSynergy, has gone so far as to develop custom tools to eliminate spam.

Another solution provider said many of his customers use third-party products, but the problem is very widespread. "Spam is a big issue with our clients," said Michael Goldstein, vice president of sales and marketing at LAN Associates, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. "Many of my clients are implementing spam-blocking solutions by NetIQ, Tumbleweed and MailWise."