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Cyberheat settles porn spam case

by on05 March 2008
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Charges brought by FTC

Cyberheat, a Tucson, Arizona based adults-only Web site, has settled a case brought against it in U.S. District Court by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The case claims that Cyberheat affiliates sent unwanted pornography-related spam to unknowing recipients, some of whom were minors.

The suit was settled by Cyberheat’s agreement to pay a $413,000 settlement, agreeing not to send spam e-mail marketing and to closely monitor the activities of its affiliates.

The FTC brought the action on the grounds that Cyberheat had exposed children and unsuspecting other individuals to sexual images without identifying what the email spam contained. The key phrase the FTC applied to Cyberheat’s actions was "electronic flashing," a violation of the FTC’s Adult Labeling Rule and the Can-Spam Act. 

These regulations require commercial e-mail entities to label sexually explicit materials as such in the subject lines of the emails.

Last modified on 05 March 2008
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