Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) SenderID technology may not be hitting it off with other technology companies, but the company's continuing on the anti-spam crusade that it started talking up back in January. Yesterday, Microsoft said it has filed nine new lawsuits against spam offenders, including a Web host that was allegedly a major purveyor of much-hated spam marketing.
This brings Microsoft's grand total of spam-related lawsuits to 100, with 70 of the suits in the U.S., according to Reuters. The Web host was National Online Sales, which supposedly offered spammers "bulletproof" services for marketing emails (the cads). According to the article, the lawsuit hopes to make it too expensive for spammers and spam-friendly operations to keep up their dastardly deeds.
Back in March, an assortment of technology heavyweights -- Time Warner's (NYSE:TWX) AOL, Microsoft, Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO), and EarthLink (NASDAQ:ELNK) -- joined forces in suing a bunch of high-profile spammers.
That March lawsuit was brought under the auspices of the CAN-SPAM Act, which, quite frankly, doesn't seem to have deterred spammers too terribly much. (I've even received, er, highly inappropriate spam messages that had the gall to claim they were being sent in compliance with the CAN-SPAM Act.)
True, recent developments surrounding Microsoft's SenderID brainchild have indicated that other technology companies, as well as the open-source movement, often distrust the giant's motives. However, when it comes to the spam war, it's a spot where Microsoft's deep pockets and clout could possibly do a lot of good.
Jaundiced anti-Microsoft folks, of course, will point out that Microsoft has a vested interest in spam control, considering spam-borne worms and other electronic vermin that tend to particularly target its products. Regardless, any company that relies on Internet users needs to eradicate unsolicited email marketing.
After all, more and more people are reporting an alarming amount of fatigue and distress caused by the ever-increasing onslaughts of spam in their inboxes. To most of us, it doesn't matter too much who does it, as long as spam does get canned. (Though some have mentioned that a busy hurricane season may have put some spammers at least temporarily out of commission, seeing how many supposedly reside in Florida.)
Although it's a pleasant thought that Microsoft could make mincemeat of spam, the CAN-SPAM Act's outward signs of failure are enough to make one wonder whether the legal system and the establishment can make headway against the resilient workings of the Internet's underground. However, if Microsoft can hit them where it hurts -- the pocketbook -- we could all end up better off.
Talk about Microsoft, spam, and technology on the Microsoft discussion board. Or if the contagions of the Internet get you so darned mad you could spit, visit our Viruses, Hoaxes & Spam, Oh My! discussion board.
Alyce Lomax does not own shares of any of the companies mentioned.
