Spam king says sorry
2004-06-15 12:06
Toronto - A Canadian man accused of being one of the biggest spammers in the world by Yahoo! Inc has agreed to stop sending unwanted e-mails and plans to help educate children about the dangers of the internet, a newspaper reported on Tuesday.
In March, Yahoo sued Eric Head, his father and brother as part of a worldwide industry crackdown on hundreds of people sending unsolicited e-mail, or spam.
Yahoo alleged the three men ran a huge spamming operation and sent more than 94 million e-mails in one month alone to users of Yahoo's e-mail service.
The three have settled the lawsuit and agreed to pay Yahoo at least $100 000, Toronto's Globe and Mail reported in Tuesday's editions. The exact amount of the payment is confidential, but a lawyer for the family told the newspaper it was "six figures".
Although the lawsuit was against all three men, the allegations centred on Eric Head, 25, who ran a bulk e-mail business from the family's home in Kitchener, Ontario.
Head has shut down his operation, called Gold Disk Canada, and become a drummer in a rock band.
"Eric is out of business," said Huey Cotton, a Los Angeles lawyer who represented the men. "He's going to play in a band and find a way to use his knowledge to help protect kids on the internet."
In a statement, Head expressed regret.
"I urge everyone who is involved in the commercial bulk e-mail business to cease all operations unless and until they are completely compliant with the requirements of the new United States anti-spam laws."
The settlement was reached several weeks ago and approved by a judge on Thursday.
Cotton said the agreement is not an admission of wrongdoing and the three men neither admit nor deny Yahoo's allegations. A lawyer for Yahoo confirmed the settlement but declined further comment.
- AP