Attorney general Bill Lockyer brought the case against Los Angeles company PW Marketing. The company and its two owners were charged with sending out millions of emails advertising guides on how to spam and long lists of email addresses.
The judgment prevents PW Marketing from sending unsolicited commercial email, accessing computers that belong to other people without their permission, and disguising its identify by sending emails that appear to come from a different address.
US laws on spamming were tightened last month, with new measures allowing individuals to sue spammers and collect damages of up to $1,000 (拢590) per email. Another provision forbids sending unsolicited email advertisements unless recipients give prior permission.
In the UK, the EU directive on electronic communications will be toughened from December this year. The new European regulations also require companies to obtain individuals' consent to the use of their details before sending unsolicited direct marketing via email or text messages.
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