NEWS RELEASE
Gary G. Miller
60th Assembly District, CaliforniaFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: John Cusey
January 5, 1997 (916) 445-7550Assemblyman Gary Miller Introduces Bill to Can Spam
SACRAMENTO - Assembly Bill 1629 introduced today by Assemblyman Gary Miller (R - Diamond Bar) will protect Internet consumers from unsolicited, junk, commercial e-mail, otherwise known as spam. "Even before I introduced AB 1629 the interest from Internet users and businesses to place some curbs on spam was overwhelming. There is a real sense of urgency to find a solution for this growing problem," said Miller.Assemblyman Miller's legislation, The Internet Consumer Protection Act, would expand existing law that prohibits junk faxes by adding a provision to restrict unsolicited commercial e-mail except when there is a preexisting relationship between sender and recipient. AB 1629 would continue to allow non-commercial e-mail and solicited commercial e-mail. Miller first looked into the spam problem when a businessman in his Assembly District complained about unsolicited e-mail that was bogging down his business computer. The problem is compounded by the fact that so much junk e-mail today is pornographic solicitations or "get rich quick" schemes.
"It is time for the law to catch up with technology, especially in the case of spam where families and businesses are forced to receive large amounts of objectionable material over the Internet. This is an issue of consumer protection, privacy and private property," said Miller. The Internet Consumer Protection Act is supported by the Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial E-mail (CAUCE), a national lobbying organization formed to combat the unsolicited e-mail plague at the federal and state level. The Internet address for CAUCE is http://www.cauce.org/.
"I am all for free speech," said Miller, "but it should be illegal to take someone's computer hostage with junk e-mail."
PASADENA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 7, 1997--EarthLink Network Inc. (NASDAQ: ELNK), an Internet access provider, Wednesday struck a major blow for Internet users everywhere when a California judge prevented Cyber Promotions Inc., a distributor of mass, unsolicited commercial e-mail, from sending or transmitting its messages through EarthLink's system or to its members. "This is a landmark victory in EarthLink's mission to protect the rights of our members and maintain a spam-free Internet," said Charles (Garry) Betty, president and CEO of EarthLink Network. "We did what we said we were going to do, and that is to declare war on spammers. This ruling is not only a win for EarthLink, but it's a win for all of us who use the Internet. We all stand to benefit." The ruling occurred in EarthLink's recently filed lawsuit against Cyber Promotions, in which EarthLink seeks both injunctive relief and monetary damages in relation to Cyber Promotions' ongoing bombardment of EarthLink's members with unsolicited e-mail advertisements, commonly known as "spam." Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Diane Wayne found that Cyber Promotions' actions constituted a trespass upon EarthLink's computer resources and granted, in full, EarthLink's requested preliminary injunctive relief. The court prohibited Cyber Promotions from:
Judge Wayne found that Cyber Promotions had and was engaged in the "past and current transmission of unsolicited e-mail advertisements without (EarthLink's) consent" resulting in a "deleterious effect" on EarthLink's systems and operations. She also cited Cyber Promotions' practice of disguising the true source of e-mail's originating from its system, as well as its advertisement of this capability to its co-spammers. EarthLink's attorneys, Atlanta-based Paul F. Wellborn III of Hunton & Williams and Pasadena-based Michael A. J. Nangano of Kolts & Nawa, characterized the ruling as an especially significant initial defeat for Cyber Promotions' attempts to continue the transmittal of unsolicited e-mails via operational changes designed to comply with earlier rulings against that practice.
US District Court Justice Charles Weiner late yesterday turned down a second request from Cyber Promotions for a temporary restraining order (TRO) that, if granted, would have prevented AOL from blocking Cyber Promotions' mass e-mailings to AOL members.
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