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First Lawsuit Against Cell-Phone Spammers

Posted by timothy on from the go-cat-go dept.

BMcWilliams writes "The PR machine at Verizon Wireless hasn't made any noise about this yet, but the carrier last month filed a lawsuit against some Rhode Island spammers who targeted its cell phone customers with over four million text-message ads for ephedra, penis pills, mortgages, etc. The timing of the lawsuit is interesting, given that the FCC is in the process of hammering out rules governing cell-phone spam. I am told the Verizon litigation is the first of its kind in the USA. My story about the lawsuit, and a copy of Verizon Wireless' complaint, are available here."

6 of 122 comments (clear)

  1. Reluctant kudos by SIGALRM · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Verizon Wireless hasn't made any noise about this yet, but the carrier last month filed a lawsuit
    In recent months, Verizon Wireless seems to have been doing a decent job protecting consumers from unwanted advertising.

    In addition to their anti-spam efforts Verizon has opposed the cell-phone directory--and in the broadband-whore department, are at the forefront of deploying FTTP--which I personally want today. :)

    I'm not a huge fan of VZW--although they do have great coverage, at least IMBY.
    --
    Sigs cause cancer.
  2. Targetted Ads by mindaktiviti · · Score: 5, Funny

    So when do you get my 0.50 cent coupon for a Big Mac when I walk by a McDonalds?

    Big Brother, where art thou? :(

  3. Whitelisting is not the answer by cephyn · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I hate whitelisting. Its just a poor way to protect the end user. There are many instances, both for email, or cell phones where a whitelist will block an important transmission. To push whitelisting as the solution is a cop-out. It increases litigation, but creating good, informed, solid and unambiguous laws is the best way to stop spammers.

    --
    Moo.
  4. Geez! by iamdrscience · · Score: 4, Funny

    For the last time, my girlfriend and I are both happy with the length of her penis already (zero inches by the way)! Stop sending her these messages!

    1. Re:Geez! by Fuzzums · · Score: 4, Funny

      Do you want a morgage on that penis or perhaps does the penis want a diploma?

      --
      Privacy is terrorism.
  5. Who pays? by Jadecristal · · Score: 4, Informative

    Real simple: in the US, unlike Europe, where the sending/originator of a call or message pays, our scummy mobile phone companies make *US* pay. So, if someone goes to cingular.com and sends me a totally unsolicited message, voila-$.10 for my bill.

    And if someone does that 100 times, voila-$10 on my bill. There's not any incentive for the mobile carriers to make it stop, except of customer complaints. Which, in this case, are probably what caused the lawsuit, since Verizon wants to be seen as proactive on the issue. But I really doubt that they mind that much. If there were no complaints, do you think they'd sue?