Spammer May Spend A Quarter Century In Jail

Comments (9)

1. • torka

   If I really thought it would do anything about the spam problem, I'd say they should put him *under* the jail for 26 years. Unfortunately, spam is so out of hand, locking up one guy is probably going to make approximately zero difference. :(

   • (0 Kudos received)
2. • SearchRank

   Is 26 years for email spamm too harsh? Too lenient? What do you think?

   Personally, I think the punishment fits the crime... so long as they restrict him from computer usage as well. ;-)

   • (0 Kudos received)
3. • st0n3y

   Spamming shouldn't be a crime unless it can be very specifically defined. On the other hand "fraud and tax evasion" are crimes and this is what people should be punished for.

   • (0 Kudos received)
4. • SearchRank

   @st0n3y Cases I have seen over the years that earn penalties such as the one in the story above have always been over extreme incidences of spam. Let's face it, when someone goes to extreme measures to spam millions and millions of people, they rob people's time as well as bog down system resources of ISPs and hosting providers. Not to mention that email spam may be delivered via hacking into to other people's resources.

   Personally, spam robs me of time - something of which I cannot replace. I not referring to the occasional uninvited email from someone trying to sell you something but rather the barrage of emails I get on a daily basis thinking I need male enhancement or trying to sell me Rolex watches or trying to get me to log into a bank account I don't own.

   • (0 Kudos received)
5. • st0n3y

   @SearchRank "Not to mention that email spam may be delivered via hacking into to other people's resources" See, now that should be a punishable offense. My problem with punishing "spam" is that there is no definition of what it is. I also don't see how it differs from junk mail I get in my inbox every day, other than the amount of junk that can be delivered at virtually no cost. It seems that if you start down that path then any email can be considered "spam" if the recipient doesn't want it.

   If spam can be defined then I'm on board. Until then, it's a dangerous road to go down.

   • (0 Kudos received)
6. • SearchRank

   @st0n3y Point taken. For example, I have a directory which is part editorial, part pay. I email everyone in dbase about special. No one asked for email so is it criminal spam? I think not. Another scenario, I hack a web hosts subscriber base and spam them with ofers to buy Viagra. Criminal spam? You bet!

   • (0 Kudos received)
7. • st0n3y

   @SearchRank I agree on both of those. Notice that the second though required hacking. The hacking part is the crime.

   If you used your list to send a special about Viagra, would that be spam? Certainly most would consider it to be. Would it be criminal? No. Just poor judgment.

   • (0 Kudos received)
8. • exMixxer

   @SearchRank

   To put it in perspective, they are trying to score politcal points on this sentence. That would be equivalent to murder, rape, etc. Even white collar, and other Organized Crime are not put in prision as long as the sentence. I'm sure this guy will be out in less than 2 years , if not sooner. Even with the hacking allegations, who has served this amount of time that you know about?

   • (0 Kudos received)
9. • Syxle

   They should just ban him from computers

   • (0 Kudos received)

Add Your Comment Spammer May Spend A Quarter Century In Jail

Login now to post your comment.