MySpace Wins $234 Million CAN-SPAM Case

LOS ANGELES — Social networking site MySpace has won a $234 million legal judgment under the CAN-SPAM law over junk messages sent to MySpace members after defendants Sanford Wallace and Walter Rines failed to show up in court.

The judgment is thought to be the largest ever made against senders of unsolicited commercial email.

"Anybody who's been thinking about engaging in spam are going to say 'Wow, I better not go there,'" Hemanshu Nigam, MySpace chief security officer, told the Associated Press. "Spammers don't want to be prosecuted. They are there to make money. It's our job to send a message to stop them."

The two junk mailers created MySpace accounts and took over existing ones by stealing passwords. Using these accounts, they emailed MySpace members fraudulently, making the mail look like it came from trusted friends. Typically, the email asked recipients to view a video or visit a website.

"When you go there, they were making money trying to sell you something, or making money based on hits or trying to sell ringtones," Nigam said.

MySpace said the duo sent 735,925 messages to its members.

In court papers, MySpace said that sending the junk mail cost the company money and generated complaints from hundreds of users. MySpace also claimed that some of the external websites contained pornographic material, potentially harming teenagers who use MySpace.

Under the 2003 CAN-SPAM law, each violation entitles MySpace to $100 in damages, which is tripled when spam is sent "willfully and knowingly."

MySpace sought $157.4 million from Wallace and Rines under CAN-SPAM, plus a further $63.4 million separately from Rines under the same law. MySpace sought another $3 million from the pair under a different section of CAN-SPAM, $1.5 million under California's anti-phishing laws and reimbursement for $4.7 million spent on legal fees.

U.S. District Judge Audrey B. Collins granted every one of MySpace's claims for damages. The judge also issued injunctions against Wallace and Rines, barring similar activities in the future.

John Levine of the antispam advocacy group Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial Email told reporters he believes MySpace will have a tough job collecting the money.

"The giant judgments are all defaults, which means they don't necessarily even know how to find the spammer."

Related:  

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Texas Resumes AV Lawsuit Against Aylo Following SCOTUS Decision

A district court judge in Texas has unfrozen the state’s $1.6 million lawsuit against Aylo for allegedly failing to comply with age verification requirements, Bloomberg Law is reporting.

JuicyAds Wins Trademark Infringement Case Against Fraudulent Domain

JuicyAds has won its World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) case against a website using a similar domain to impersonate the company's site and defraud customers.

Anissa Kate, Jordan Starr Top AEBN for Q2 of 2025

AEBN has published its top-selling stars for the second quarter of 2025, with Anissa Kate landing atop the leaderboard for straight theaters and Jordan Starr heading up the gay rankings.

AEBN Reveals Eva Maxim as Top Trans Star for Q2 of 2025

AEBN has published its top trans stars list for the second quarter of 2025, with Eva Maxim landing atop the leaderboard.

France Reinstates Age Verification Rule for EU Sites

France’s highest court, the Council of State, on Tuesday reinstated age verification rules for EU-based sites under the country’s Security and Regulation of the Digital Space (SREN) law, ruling in favor of the French government and against Hammy Media.

Whisper Fans Joins Pineapple Support as Supporter-Level Sponsor

Whisper Fans has joined the ranks of over 70 adult businesses and organizations committing funds and resources to Pineapple Support.

Utherverse Launches 'Red Light Center' Virtual World

Virtual reality and metaverse technology company Utherverse has launched its new virtual world, RedLightCenter.io.

European Commission Approves AV Guidelines, Unveils Prototype App

The European Commission on Monday released its final, approved guidelines for protecting minors online under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) and made public a “white label” age verification app intended to help sites and platforms comply with age verification rules under the DSA.

Show More