Leading Internet companies, in an unusual joint effort among corporate rivals, announced six lawsuits Wednesday against hundreds of people accused of sending millions of unwanted e-mails in violation of the new federal law against "spam."

The legal actions by Microsoft Corp., America Online Inc., Earthlink Inc. and Yahoo! Inc., represent the first major industry actions under the "can spam" legislation that went into effect Jan. 1. The suits were filed in federal courts in California, Georgia, Virginia and Washington state.

Dozens of those named were identified only as "John Doe" defendants accused of e-mailing unwanted pitches for prescription drugs, herbal potions and weight loss plans. Lawyers expressed confidence they can work through the courts, using subpoenas and other investigative tools, to identify and find them.

[ Read more ]

Related items

• News: Why Bill Gates' antispam plan won't work (2 February 2004)
• News: We'll kill spam in two years - Gates (26 January 2004)
• Article: Spam Might Be Your Biggest Headache, But It's Not Your Biggest Threat (22 January 2004)
• Article: Spam Prevention Tips for Small Businesses (19 September 2003)
• Article: Iraq Dragged Into The Infamous 419 Scam (7 April 2003)
• Article: Spam Checklist - April Fool's Day is Approaching (27 March 2003)
• Article: Spam Wars - Rise of the Spam (16 May 2002)
• Article: Spam: The problems with junk e-mail (8 April 2002)
• Article: Mail Abuse Prevention Organization stands up to giant Harris Interactive (4 April 2002)
• Article: The six headed spam monster (1 April 2002)