High Earning Spammers Face Tougher Sentences

netbuzz writes "More big-time spammers may find themselves doing longer stretches behind bars if a federal judge's first-of-its-kind sentencing decision in a Denver case becomes widely applied. In a sense, these spammers would be hoisted on their own profits, as language in CAN-SPAM allows the use of their profits instead of the difficult-to-measure financial damage they cause in establishing a prison sentence. The Denver spammer earned $250,000 — and a 20% longer prison stint — using this approach."

Comments

Re:"Hoisted on their own profits"

[heinousjay]

To me there is no greater crime than the one that involves planning and execution, breaking and skirting security measures, taking advantage of and defrauding thousands if not millions of people, and doing so with a sense of entitlement.

Holy shit are your priorities fucked.

Re:"Hoisted on their own profits"

[erroneus]

...how can I put this tactfully... ah!

You're an idiot! An armed robbery resulting in people being shot and killed is MURDER! Capital murder at that! We're talking about Armed robbery. This is where a weapon is used in the commission of the crime of stealing from someone in person under THREAT of harm.

Yet another Slashdot inconsistency

[mi]

[...] instead of the difficult-to-measure financial damage

So, when a lying cheat gets on the hook for "sharing" other people's works of art without permission with millions, Slashdot decries the ruling as "disproportionate to the actual damages" and moreover, that RIAA failed to demonstrate having sustained any damages.

But when a spammer is nailed in proportion to their rake instead of the "difficult to measure" actual damage, we are all cheers...