Journal Journal: New York Caves into Spam King
You know, we have the CAN SPAM law that was enacted by Congress to help curb the tide of spam. New York decided to finally use this law to take on one of the most notorious spammers on the net, Scott Richter of OptinRealBig.com (hell, I have 3000 pieces of spam touting deals sent by OptinRealBig.com to an address that was never used beyond sending my sister photos of our family pet - how it got "onto" his list, is one to be revealed as of yet).
It was boasted in several media outlets that the US is finally cracking down. We were all expecting a knock'em down, drag-it out court trial to finally put this criminal behind bars and to pay hefty fines.
But no, New York has caved in. Their $20 million dollar lawsuit was settle for mere pennies. $50,000. $50,000!!! That wouldn't even pay for ONE DAY's work at AOL to monitor the spam level they get PRE DAY!!!
$50,000 settlement is a freaking joke. After the millions that Scott Richter has stolen from those he has spammed, not only this is a slap in the face to consumers; its an insult to those who have had to dealt with this one man, responsible for most of the spam we receive.
New York has much to be ashamed of. Instead of taking advantage and rooting out the criminal natures of spammers, they caved into one. This means it precedent. It means that we are not serious about punishing spammers for what they do. That the money they earn by selling snake oil, fake diet pills, porn, and stealing our resources is nothing. That the extra fees we pay to our ISP's to handle the spam epidemic is all for nothing.
Thank you New York. Now, maybe Microsoft will actually have the balls to do something you were unwilling to do.
