AOL Partners with Microsoft, Earthlink And Yahoo For Spam Lawsuits

America Online, Inc. (www.corp.aol.com) announced it was stepping up its fight against purveyors of unwanted, junk computer messages by filing two new lawsuits in Federal Court.

The round of lawsuits announced today by AOL, Microsoft, Earthlink and Yahoo! is the second time junk email-related enforcement actions have been filed by the Anti-Spam Alliance, which was founded in April 2003 and is chiefly led by the four companies.

On March 10, 2004, these Companies collaborated to file the very first major industry lawsuits against spammers alleging violations under the new CAN-SPAM federal law, which went into effect on January 1st, 2004.

"These lawsuits demonstrate that AOL's assault on spammers on behalf of our members continues unabated. AOL and our members continue to make spam-fighting a priority, and we continue to use the legal process on their behalf to help put a lid on the worst, most active spammers - no matter where they are, or how they send their unwanted junk," said Randall Boe, Executive Vice President and General Counsel of AOL.

The announcement was made in conjunction with AOL's anti-spam partners Microsoft, EarthLink and Yahoo! - who also announced they filed lawsuits against spammers in courts in Washington State, Georgia, and California.

AOL's lawsuits are noteworthy and unique in nature. The first AOL lawsuit, filed against twenty "John Does", is the Company's very first lawsuit that expressly targets "SPIM" - unwanted communications to online consumers via instant messaging tools or chat rooms.

The other lawsuit is the very first AOL legal action to target a spammer peddling controlled substances, including Vicodin and other pharmaceuticals, which are legally available only with a physician's prescription.

This lawsuit, filed against ten "John Does", is also noteworthy because it is the first time AOL is filing a spam lawsuit based on a large number of complaints specifically determined to be from AOL Europe and AOL Canada members.

Both AOL lawsuits were filed in Federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia, located in Alexandria, VA. The complaints identify "John Does" as Defendants, and seek Court injunctions to stop the illegal conduct; statutory damages totaling millions of dollars; and disgorgement of illegal profits (asset forfeiture).