DMA STATEMENT: FIRST ISP LAWSUITS UNDER CAN SPAM ACT
NEW YORK, March 10, 2004 – The Direct Marketing Association (The DMA) today heralded an announcement by major Internet Service Providers (ISPs) that they have filed the first lawsuits under the CAN SPAM Act of 2003 as a positive indication that the nation’s first national anti-spam law is working.
"Today’s announcement puts spammers on clear notice that there is a coordinated effort being waged against them and that their days are numbered," said H. Robert Wientzen, president & CEO, The DMA. "Spammers have long thought they could hide forever in the shadows of cyberspace and continue to commit their crimes. Now they will start to realize that they can, and will, be found, and there will be serious consequences when that happens."
"Moreover, this is a highly positive development for a national law that is a little more than two months old," said Wientzen. "This coordinated industry effort among major ISPs is precisely as the law intended, and, no doubt, more actions like this will follow."
"Criminal cases take longer time to build," Wientzen added. "However, The DMA is vigorously working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to bring about such actions, and we anticipate positive results on the criminal front against spammers as well."
The DMA is the leading trade association for businesses interested in interactive and database marketing, with nearly 4,700 member companies from the United States and 53 other nations. Founded in 1917, its members include direct marketers from every business segment as well as the nonprofit and electronic marketing sectors. Included are catalogers, Internet retailers and service providers, financial services providers, book and magazine publishers, book and music clubs, retail stores, industrial manufacturers and a host of other vertical segments, including the service industries that support them. According to a DMA-commissioned study, direct and interactive marketing sales in the United States are projected to have surpassed $2 trillion in 2002, including $126 billion in catalog sales and $34 billion in sales generated by the Internet. The DMA's Web site is
www.the-dma.org, and its consumer Web site is www.shopthenet.org.
###