FTC moves to shut down porn spam operation

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for the first time has asked a judge to block a spam operation that allegedly uses deceptive subject lines to drive customers to an adult Web site.

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The FTC action against Brian D. Westby, filed Tuesday, was the first time the agency has targeted an alleged spammer for deceptive subject lines, but a spokeswoman for the agency promised more such lawsuits against spammers.  According to court documents, the Westby operation generated 46,000 complains to the FTC in the past nine months.

Asked if the agency acted because of the volume of unsolicited e-mail generated by Westby's operation, the spokeswoman answered, "He sure was a big one."

The FTC filed a complaint asking the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, to halt unsolicited e-mail coming from an operation owned by Westby, of suburban St. Louis, Missouri . He has registered more than 20 adult-themed Web domains, including Marriedbutlonely.net, Shaggweb.com and Sexyadultpages.net, according to the FTC, and the agency will ask for a permanent injunction against Westby during a later trial.

The agency accuses Westby of running a spamming operation that sends e-mail with subject lines such as "Did you hear the News" and "New movie info," but containing sexually explicit material. An FTC press release said children and workers at companies with anti-pornography policies may have been inadvertently exposed to the contents of those e-mails.

Westby's spam provides a hyperlink or an e-mail address for consumers to unsubscribe, but according to the FTC, those who tried to get off the mailing list received error messages. The FTC also alleges that Westby used false reply-to information in e-mails, making it appear as though someone else was the sender. The FTC accuses Westby of violating laws against deceptive advertising.

Westby was unreachable for comment Thursday. His phone number in suburban St. Louis was unpublished, and several of his registered domains were not working.

Technology lawyer Michael R. Overly called the FTC action a "symbolic gesture" to show the public the agency is concerned about spam. While several states have passed anti-spam laws, a sweeping anti-spam law has not gotten through the U.S. Congress, and Overly suggested the FTC seems to be moving ahead without Congress.

"What we're seeing here from the FTC is impatience, if you will: 'We'll self-create an anti-spam law,'" Overly said. "I think they decided to fire a shot across the bow of spammers."

Overly questioned whether the FTC had the resources to go after every spammer using Westby's alleged tactics. "You put one out of business today, and five more will be in business tomorrow," he added. "But if I'm a spammer who's one of the big players in the area -- there might be a few dozen -- I might be concerned about this."

Overly, a partner in the Los Angeles law offices of Foley & Lardner, also suggested that technology might be a better tool for fighting spam than legal action. The technology to cut sexually explicit spam by 50 to 60 percent will be available soon, he predicted.

"We have good tools today to help us block these things and will have better tools in the near future," he added.

The FTC is hosting a three-day spam forum starting April 30, and several spammers have been invited. For more information on the forum, see http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/workshops/spam/index.html.