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FTC wins first-of-its-kind battle against porn spammers


WASHINGTON (BP)–In the first case of its kind, the Federal Trade Commission has won a victory against a group of companies that allegedly broke federal laws in sending out pornographic e-mail spam.

A federal judge Jan. 11 issued preliminary injunctions against six companies — all of which worked together as one business enterprise and were involved in allegedly sending out hundreds of thousands of pornographic e-mails that violated federal law. Among the allegations: the e-mails failed to include the required “SEXUALLY-EXPLICIT:” warning in the subject of the e-mail. The e-mails included pornography but also included links to sexually explicit websites, the FTC said.

The FTC charges that the group violated the Adult Labeling Rule, the CAN-SPAM Act and the FTC Act. The federal judge, in U.S. District Court in Nevada, issued a temporary order Jan. 5 but extended it Jan. 11. The extension will last until the case is complete, the Associated Press reported.

Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, commended the FTC’s work.

“It’s about time,” he told Baptist Press. “Finally, there is a government agency that is listening to the concerns of the people. We must find effective ways to address the purveying of this electronic filth, which is truly moral and spiritual toxic waste in our nation’s bloodstream.”

Porn companies, Land said, must be “forced to pay a price [and] a price that hurts — the bottom line”

The “SEXUALLY-EXPLICIT:” subject line, mandated by the CAN-SPAM Act, allows parents and e-mail users to identify pornographic e-mails before opening them. It also gives e-mail users the option of turning on a filter that automatically deletes them from their inbox.

“The law gives consumers a tool to control what comes into their inboxes,” Lydia Parnes, acting director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a statement. “Spammers beware! We are on the side of parents and kids to protect their ability to filter out sexually-explicit e-mails.”

The companies sent out hundreds of thousands of unwanted e-mails to customers, the FTC says.

Among the other violations, the FTC alleges that companies:

— failed to include an “opt-out” way for people to be taken off future e-mail lists.

— failed to disclose that the e-mail was an advertisement.

— failed to provide the company’s physical mailing address.

Four of the companies charged are located in Las Vegas: Global Net Solutions; Open Space Enterprises, Inc.; Southlake Group, Inc.; and WTFRC, Inc., which does business as Reflected Networks, Inc. The other two companies are Global Net Ventures, Ltd. in London and Wedlake, Ltd, which the FTC said is allegedly based in Riga, Latvia.
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    About the Author

  • Michael Foust