Although most of us see spam as part of life on the Internet these days, it’s still refreshing to see spammers get tracked down and nailed for their e-mail abuse. That’s exactly what happened in the case of TheGlobe.com, which hit MySpace users with 400,000 unsolicited e-mail messages over a year ago. MySpace filed suit in June 2006, and announced Thursday that it will be collecting $5.5 million in damages from the TheGlobe.com after a success in court.
In February 2007, a Federal Court found TheGlobe.com liable for violations of the CAN-SPAM Act, a California business law, and MySpace’s terms of use. MySpace’s terms of use don’t just prohibit spam, though, they actually impose “liquidated damages” of $50 per e-mail sent. The court will enforce this provision – the first time such a provision has ever been enforced. TheGlobe.com is liable for every spam e-mail sent to MySpace users after March 17, 2006, totaling $5.5 million in damages.
Although that only accounts for 110,000 of the 400,000 messages allegedly sent, it adds up to a significant chunk of change for both companies, and sends a warning to spammers everywhere that they can be held liable for their actions.
"This ruling sets a new precedent enabling us to further protect our members from phishing and spam," said Hemanshu Nigam, chief security officer for MySpace, in a statement. "We hope it sends a strong message that MySpace will take aggressive steps to stop those who violate the law and damage our members’ experience.”
