BeerFiles is a sometimes irreverent blog concerning all things to do with IT, technology, people and the media from the point of view of a hard boiled technology journalist and commentator. Stan has been in the IT game for about a quarter of a century. He has seen and written about the rise and fall of more than a few IT players and made many friends, some of whom he has even crossed swords with on occasions. Everything in this blog is purely Stan’s opinion so if you agree, wish to expand upon, correct a post or tell Stan he’s a clueless know nothing, please feel free.

Spamhaus missed opportunity to have its day

by Stan Beer

Thursday, 12 October 2006

The decision by Spamhaus not to appear in court to fight against the email marketer e360insight was a disappointment to all of us that detest the unsolicited email junk that devalues the email system that the online world has come to rely upon for communications. Spamhaus is a non-profit organization that performs a valuable service in helping to fight spam. However, in the free world at least, no-one is above the law. By thumbing its nose at the US court system, Spamhaus conveys the impression that the organization believes it is above the law and answerable to no-one. By not appearing in court to fight the charges levelled by e360insight, Spamhaus has not only given a victory to an organization it believes is a spammer, it has put other good organizations in a difficult position. Faced with a no-show, no-contest from Spamhaus, the US District Court judge had no option but to grant in favour of e360insight. Spamhaus may think, as is fashionable in some sections of Europe and UK society, that it is justified in thumbing its nose at US authority. However, in so doing it has placed ICANN, which is still answerable to the US Government, and its Canadian-based ISP Tucows in difficult positions. Anticipating that it may at some stage receive a US judicial order to shut down the Spamhaus domain, ICANN has issued a statement claiming that it does not have such powers. If push came to shove, however, that claim in itself could end up getting tested in a court. Then of course the last thing ISP Tucows needs is to find itself in a legal wrangle. All that aside, Spamhaus has missed an opportunity to prove that its characterization of e360insight as a spammer was correct and, if so, put the organization out of business. Finally, there is of course the irony that Spamhaus in ignoring the US judicial system is employing the same argument as many of the world's illegal internet offenders who claim to be outside the jurisdiction of the nation that comprises their target audience. The internet cannot afford to do without Spamhaus. It is one of the good guys fighting the good fight. So it should start behaving like one, appeal the US court's decision and have its day in court.{moscomment} Tags See All Tags Internet  Security  Powered By Joomla Tags Please enable JavaScript in your browser to post your comment!

 

< Next story in category		Previous story in the category >