Story Published:
Jun 15, 2004 at 12:05 AM PST
Story Updated:
Aug 31, 2006 at 12:30 AM PST
TORONTO - A Canadian man accused of being one of the
world's biggest spammers has agreed to stop sending the junk
messages and plans to educate children about the dangers of the
Internet, a newspaper reported Tuesday.
In March, Yahoo! Inc. sued Eric Head, his father and brother as
part of a worldwide industry crackdown on hundreds of people
sending unsolicited e-mail, or spam.
Yahoo alleged the three men ran a huge spamming operation and
sent more than 94 million e-mails in one month alone to users of
Yahoo's e-mail service.
The three have settled the lawsuit and agreed to pay Yahoo at
least $100,000, Toronto's Globe and Mail reported in Tuesday's
editions. The exact amount is confidential, but a lawyer for the
family told the newspaper it was "six figures."
Although the lawsuit named all three men, the allegations
centered on Eric Head, 25, who ran a bulk e-mail business from the
family's home in Kitchener, Ontario.
Head has shut down his operation, called Gold Disk Canada, and
become a drummer in a rock band.
"Eric is out of business," said Huey Cotton, a Los Angeles
lawyer who represented the men. "He's going to play in a band and
find a way to use his knowledge to help protect kids on the
Internet."
In a statement, Head expressed regret.
"I urge everyone who is involved in the commercial bulk e-mail
business to cease all operations unless and until they are
completely compliant with the requirements of the new United States
anti-spam laws."
The settlement was reached several weeks ago and approved by a
judge on Thursday.
Cotton said the agreement is not an admission of wrongdoing and
the three men neither admit nor deny Yahoo's allegations. A lawyer
for Yahoo confirmed the settlement but declined further comment.