Governor Sonny Perdue Announces a Tough, New Anti-Spam Proposal

Posted Thursday, January 20, 2005

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ATLANTA, --

A proposal unveiled today by Governor Sonny Perdue, and supported by EarthLink, will give Georgia a new remedy in the fight against deceptive spam and other fraudulent e-mails.

EarthLink, the nation's next generation Internet service provider, today announced its endorsement of the Governor's plan to fight unwanted junk e-mails with legislation that would provide tough, new criminal and civil penalties for spamming, including jail time and monetary damages.

Governor Purdue announced his plan during a news conference today at EarthLink headquarters in Atlanta. EarthLink believes the Governor's initiative will enhance the Internet provider's multi-faceted approach to fighting spam and protecting Internet users through legislation, litigation, technical solutions and consumer education.

"The goal of the Georgia Slam Spam E-mail Act is to hold accountable those who abuse the Internet and harass our citizens with fraudulent, misleading and unwanted commercial e-mail. I'm proud to have the support of a leading Internet provider like EarthLink in this effort and to be partners in this fight," said Governor Sonny Perdue. "I urge the General Assembly to pass the Slam Spam E-mail Act so that Georgians can once again check their e-mail without having to wade through a cesspool of spam. We're going to clean up spam in Georgia and put our citizens back in control of their online lives."

"The Governor's initiative gives EarthLink and other businesses throughout Georgia an important new tool for shutting down rogue, spam e-mailers," said Garry Betty, EarthLink president and chief executive officer. "This proposed legislation highlights the Governor's commitment to protecting Internet users against fraudulent, deceitful and unwanted e-mails. Internet protection proposals like Governor Perdue's are a key component in fighting online fraud and letting cyber criminals know that they will face severe penalties if they continue to send deceptive commercial e-mails."

The Governor's proposal will allow any Georgia e-mail service provider and domain owner to bring legal action against a spammer. The legislation will work in tandem with the federal CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 that went into effect last year with support from EarthLink and other industry leaders. EarthLink has filed lawsuits using the federal CAN-SPAM Act as well as other state and federal laws. Governor Perdue's proposal will add important enforcement provisions at the state level for criminal and civil cases in Georgia.

EarthLink continues to be a leader in the fight against spam and other forms of criminal Internet activity. In 2004, the company provided evidence to the New York Attorney General's office that helped send the "Buffalo Spammer" to jail for his spam-related crimes. EarthLink's protection tools, including spamBlocker, ScamBlocker(TM), Spyware Blocker and other software tools, provide immediate relief to consumers from the perils on the Internet.

Using state and federal laws to file lawsuits against alleged spammers and seeking court orders that put them out of business is an important way that EarthLink helps preserve the integrity of the Internet.

As a leading national Internet service provider (ISP), Atlanta-based EarthLink has earned an award-winning reputation for outstanding customer service and its suite of online products and services. According to the J.D. Power and Associates 2004 Internet Service Provider Residential Customer Satisfaction Study(SM), EarthLink is ranked highest in customer satisfaction among dial up and high-speed Internet Service Providers.

Learn more about EarthLink by visiting EarthLink's Web site at www.earthlink.net

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