Suing a spammer requires finding him first

Issaquah, Wash.

Here's the theory: Give every e-mail recipient in the state of Washington the legal firepower to sue junk e-mail senders, and watch those spammers scurry for cover.

The problem, however, is that many spammers are already undercover. They're so well-hidden, in fact, that simply finding them can be a challenge for those wanting to sue using Washington's new antispam law. As for collecting an actual court judgment, that may make the initial hunt look relatively easy.

Nevertheless, early users and proponents of the Washington law believe it holds great promise for frightening a lot of spammers into at least behaving better, even if it won't bankrupt many of them. Passed earlier this summer, the statute allows Washington residents to sue spammers in civil or small claims court. Penalties of $500 per spam message paid to recipients and $1,000 per message paid to e-mail account providers may be tripled by a judge.

The law requires senders to determine whether an e-mail address resides in Washington, which can be a difficult task. Antispam activists believe, therefore, that the less brazen, more amateurish spammers outside of Washington could simply stop spamming altogether rather than risk running afoul of the statute.

There are early signs that deterrence may indeed be a byproduct. After merely threatening to sue, one Washington resident reportedly received $200 from a company that had sent him spam.

"Whether or not we end up collecting lots of money, we want to make it clear that there is an economic downside to sending spam," says Adam Engst, who last month filed the first actual lawsuit based on the statute. Engst is publisher of TidBITS, an electronic newsletter that focuses on Macintosh and Internet issues.

The target of his civil suit is WorldTouch Network, a Los Angeles-based company that peddles a product called Bull's Eye Gold, which, ironically enough, is used by spammers to harvest e-mail addresses off of Web pages. Engst says he and three colleagues, who are also parties to the suit, received about 100 copies of the Bull's Eye spam in a single month.

"We had no trouble finding WorldTouch as far as identifying them for the lawsuit," Engst says, noting that the company's phone number and address were in the spam. However, he adds, "We have not been able to find the principal of the organization."

That would be Christopher Lee Knight, a man notorious among antispam activists for the high volumes and repetitiveness of the unsolicited commercial e-mail he sends. California law requires that the principal of an unincorporated company be personally served notice of a civil suit.

"He is one of the most reviled spammers so far as I can tell from reaction that we've gotten to this lawsuit," says Brady Johnson, Engst's attorney.

Messages left last week by Network World for Knight at WorldTouch were not returned. Johnson says he was told last week that the company's L.A. office is sporting a new "out of business" sign, although he has not been able to confirm that development.

"We're still trying to track down Knight's home" by using a process server, Johnson says. "I think we're closing in, and I have good reason to be very optimistic that we'll have him probably within the week."

Should they fail, however, the plaintiffs may still fulfill their obligation to notify Knight by publishing ads in L.A. newspapers and legal journals.

All of this can get expensive and time-consuming.

Nevertheless, Engst and Johnson do not believe such difficulties should or will discourage others from using the law. They do, however, acknowledge that even the most determined spam fighters have their limits.

"Where's your cut-off?" Engst asks. "How much money do you want to spend in trying to track this guy down?"

Paul Hoffman, director of the Internet Mail Consortium, believes that antispammers will relish the opportunity granted them by the Washington law.

"It takes somebody who is willing to go out on a limb," Hoffman says. "These are people who really care about the Internet."