T3, an Australian direct marketing company, has sued an individual anti-spam advocate, Joseph McNicol, claiming that McNicol was responsible for getting the company listed by SPEWS.org, a spam blacklist organization. T3 is demanding A$43,750 (about US$24,800), claiming that McNicol was responsible for T3's business losses when they were blocked from sending email to customers of ISPs who use the SPEWS list of spammers.
McNicols published his complaints about T3 on a Web site at http://www.vtgts.com/auspam.htm . He denies having complained directly to SPEWS about T3. According to a statement on the SPEWS Web site:
"Unlike other block-lists, SPEWS does not take submissions or nominations. Entries in SPEWS are made by the people who run SPEWS for their own blocking and filtering needs. It is provided to the rest of the Internet as an educational tool, or an opinion to use if anyone wishes."
Views: Better watch what you say!
Over the years, I've seen a number of legal threats made against individuals by bulk emailers, but as far as I know, this is the first time that any of them has ever acted on the threat. It sounds frivolous to me. I suspect the purpose is to try to squelch the more vocal of spam complainers. Hard to believe that T3 is going to win this one.
However, this case does bring to mind one thing: Freedom of speech is not unlimited. Regardless of what the content is, you can't say just anything you want to (at least in writing) about someone else and expect legal protection. If you write something that is malicious, damaging, and untrue, you could be in trouble!
It also reminds me of something my old lawyer John Carnahan used to say: "In this country, anybody can sue anybody they want to for any reason." (Apparently the same is true in Australia.) They might not win, but they certainly can sue if they want to; if you're the one who gets targeted by a suit, you could end up with legal costs even if the suit is frivolous. Unfortunately, companies as well as individuals will sometimes use lawsuits as a club to intimidate others and keep them quiet.
What do you think? Did this anti-spam activist cross the line? Send us your opinion by clicking on the "Post Letter" link at the top of the right-hand column of this page.
-- Al Bredenberg
Al Bredenberg is publisher of EmailResults.com (http://www.emailresults.com). Find out about Al's new book, "Profitable e-Marketing: Success Strategies That Pay Off," at http://www.profitableemarketing.com .
