F.T.C. Files First Legal Case Against Sexually Explicit Spam

[LiviaOlivia]

The New York Times
January 12, 2005
F.T.C. Files First Legal Case Against Sexually Explicit Spam
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON, Jan. 11 (AP) - The Federal Trade Commission said on Tuesday that it had won a court order to shut down illegal advertising for six companies accused of profiting from thousands of X-rated e-mail messages directing people to their online pornography sites. The move was the agency's first legal case involving sex-related Internet spam.

On Jan. 5, a federal judge in Las Vegas granted the commission's request for a restraining order against the companies, their executives and an affiliate after they were accused of violating federal laws governing unsolicited commercial e-mail, commonly known as spam.

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It is the first time the agency has taken legal action under a rule that requires a label in the subject line of sexually explicit e-mail messages. The law also holds others liable for operating Web sites that benefit from fraudulent pornographic spam.

The Nevada companies named in the complaint were Global Net Solutions Inc., Open Space Enterprises Inc., Southlake Group and W.T.F.R.C. Inc., which does business as Reflected Networks Inc. Also named were Global Net Ventures Ltd. of London and Wedlake Ltd., which the F.T.C. said was based in Riga, Latvia.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/12/technology/12porn.html