Re: My Space Sues Colorado Man for Spamming

Spammers are able to send the fake messages by planting viruses that
> post spoof login pages, asking users to re-enter their username and > password. The spam program then logs into the account and send the > unwanted ad messages to a person's friend list, which in some cases > can number in the tens of thousands.

This practice is clearly illegal under long existing fraud laws:

FRAUD: "The making of a false statement of a past or existing fact with knowledge of its falsity or whith reckless indifference as to its truth with the intent to cause another to rely thereon, and he does rely thereon to his injury." --law textbook.

The question then becomes are the people who create this false web pages being prosecuted for doing so? If not, why not?

MySpace ... go after the worst offenders.

Why aren't they going after _all_ the offenders?

[public replies, please] [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Well, Lisa, that would mean getting the quasi-regulators like ICANN involved, and force them (ICANN or their representative registrars) to investigate and clamp down on the type of people/organizations they permit to have web sites (or at least who those sites are permitted to talk to or exchange traffic with. Sort of like the old Fido rule about being 'excessively annoying' and getting yourself cut out of circulation, in other words, being exciled or socially quarentined.

And as any good, intelligent and liberal do-good Usenetter would happily explain to you, (1) 'we cannot dictate to others what they are permitted to do with their websites or computers', and (2)[the same Usenetters speaking as they wring their hands] 'they might decide to sue because the rest of us did not allow them to run amok with their computers and web sites'. Only, the same Usenetters do not phrase it quite like that; they prefer to couch it in terms of freedom of speech and all that rot. It is quite amazing to me how '.edu' is relatively clean -- because the registrar insists on it -- but '.com' and the others are like the wild west because the registrars are either unable or unwilling to make the same requirements. And they might decide to sue us? As the late Jack Benny used to say, 'really, Mary ...' or as Dan Florek on 'CSI Special Victims Unit' phrased it so eloquently on TV tonight, "My Ass!"

Lisa, the first thing we need to do is uproot the ICANN gang; they are as worthless as anyone can be. Then install new people in ICANN who take a harsher attitude. Do not expect anything until ICANN is totally cleaned out. Esther Dyson and Vint Cerf are the worst. They have to be the first to be gone. Not a very good prospect, is it? PAT]