Microsoft to Unveil Further Legal Action on Spam
Wed December 17, 2003 05:23 PM ET

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) , the world's largest software maker, said on Wednesday that it was cooperating with New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer in a bid to crack down on spam, or unsolicited e-mail.

Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith and Spitzer were set to hold a joint news conference in New York on Thursday, said Sean Sundwall, a Microsoft spokesman.

I can confirm that the announcement will be about cooperation with the New York Attorney General on spam, Sundwall said.

Microsoft, which has gone on the offensive against e-mail advertising touting everything from get-rich-quick schemes to pornographic Web sites, is developing anti-spam technology and also waging legal war against spammers.

Microsoft's Smith has said that Microsoft would work to fight against spam on all fronts, including its ongoing efforts to protect consumers by using better technology such as blocking and filtering tools, and also collaborate with other Internet businesses.

In June, Microsoft filed 15 lawsuits in the United States and the United Kingdom against spammers, claiming that they were responsible for flooding its MSN Internet service with more than 2 billion unsolicited e-mail messages.

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates vowed in an open letter in June to make the fight against spam, or unsolicited e-mail, one of the No. 1 software maker's top priorities.

On Tuesday, President Bush signed the first national anti-spam bill into law, outlawing some of the most annoying forms of junk e-mail and setting jail time and multimillion dollar fines for violators.

© Reuters 2003. All Rights Reserved.
Source: Reuters