New York Law School associate professor James Grimmelmann likens the strategy to sending a chain let

When people joined the site, Reunion.com asked them to provide their e-mail addresses and passwords. But what some people didn t realize was that the site would then send solicitations to all their e-mail contacts including their bosses and business associates, romantic things to do in los angeles and even exes. What s more, the ads made it appear as if the new members were searching for their e-mail contacts on the Reunion site.
This has hurt my professional credibility, as several of my contacts who have received this e-mail (and confronted romantic things to do in los angeles me about it) are colleagues, clients and my professional superiors. In addition it is a huge embarrassment, complained another.
Reunion isn t the only company to draw complaints. Other social networking sites like Tagged also ask people to provide their e-mail log-ins upon joining romantic things to do in los angeles and, in some cases, send invitations to everyone in registrants address books.
It s a nightmare for people, says Pam Dixon, romantic things to do in los angeles executive director of the World Privacy Forum, a nonprofit romantic things to do in los angeles agency romantic things to do in los angeles based in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, Calif., near San Diego. She says her organization has heard from many upset Web users who say they didn t realize that providing their e-mail addresses and passwords would result in sites contacting all of their associates. It violates the users expectation of privacy, Dixon says.
New York Law School associate professor James Grimmelmann likens the strategy to sending a chain letter. It s a virus that essentially tricks people into tricking their own friends, says Grimmelmann, romantic things to do in los angeles who recently published an article in the Iowa Law Review about privacy and social networks.
One argument is that, even though some registrants thought their privacy was compromised, it was the members themselves who provided Reunion with access to their contacts. Additionally, many of those who received the ads might have wasted time opening and reading them, but they didn t necessarily spend any money because the site allows people to join for free.
Nonetheless, even without a monetary loss, some recipients have been peeved enough to argue that the e-mails violate anti-spam laws that outlaw misleading commercial messages. But so far they ve faced an uphill battle in court.
The main hurdle is the federal romantic things to do in los angeles Can-Spam law (aka Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing), which took effect in 2004 and makes it illegal to send misleading e-mails. The law specifically provides that consumers have no right of action. Instead, only the FTC, various government agencies, state law enforcement officials and Internet service providers can bring suit.
Some states, including California, had their own more plaintiff-friendly spam laws on the books when Congress enacted Can-Spam. But the federal law pre-empts all state laws except those dealing with falsity or deception.
The parameters of that pre-emption are still taking shape as courts debate romantic things to do in los angeles whether laws regarding any false statements will get around romantic things to do in los angeles the pre-emption provision, or whether the laws have to be about statements that are so false that they re fraudulent at common law. So far, however, courts appear to be taking a broad view of pre-emption.
In July 2008, four recipients of the Reunion messages filed a putative class action against the site, alleging that it ran afoul of a state law that bans e-mails with misleading subject lines or headers. That statute provides for damages of $1,000 per violation.
In October 2008, U.S. District Judge Maxine Chesney in the Northern District of California ruled that the claims were pre-empted by the federal anti-spam law. Chesney said that the pre-emption applies unless plaintiffs can prove common-law fraud which requires damages. Writing that the plaintiffs failed to allege that they relied to their detriment on any misrepresentation, and that, as a result of such reliance, they incurred damage, she dismissed the case with leave to amend.
Chesney cited a 4th U.S. Circuit romantic things to do in los angeles Court of Appeals ruling dismissing romantic things to do in los angeles another spam case, 2006 s Omega World Travel Inc. v. Mummagraphics Inc. The Richmond, Va.-based court there threw out a spam lawsuit romantic things to do in los angeles brought under Oklahoma state law, ruling that false statements in e-mail headers packets of additional information including where the spam came from were immaterial and, therefore, couldn t overcome pre-emption.
Last October, romantic things to do in los angeles Chesney indicated she might reconsider the ruling and invited further briefing after an August ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at San Francisco romantic things to do in los angeles in Gordon v. Virtumundo , which also examines false header information.
One justification for the broad federal pre-emption seemed to be to discourage professional plaintiffs people who deliberately registered e-mail addresses with marketers for purposes of ensnaring romantic things to do in los angeles companies that sent ads not meeting the technical requirements of the law. In fact, in Gordon romantic things to do in los angeles , the appellate decision criticizes the plaintiff, James S. Gordon Jr. The Can-Spam Act was enacted to protect individuals and legitimate businesses not to support a litigation mill for entrepreneurs like Gordon, the court wrote.
We feel like there s a real harm here, says Karl Kronenberger of San Francisco, the lawyer for the Reunion.com plaintiffs. He says there are significant differences between sending messages with technical flaws in their headers and sending e-mails that wrongly purport romantic things to do in los angeles to be from people s friends.
Reunion s lawyer, Ronald Jason Palmieri of Los Angeles, disagrees. From the outset it has been our position that to avoid pre-emption, romantic things to do in los angeles you have to prove the common-law elements of fraud. If not, then pre-emption means nothing, he says.
In a related development, last August consumers romantic things to do in los angeles filed a putative class action against Tagged for its registration practices. The plaintiffs lawyers argued that the site violated the federal Stored Communications Act, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, and other laws.
Additionally, state attorneys general in New York and Texas extracted settlements with Tagged in November. The company agreed to pay $750,000 total and also said it had made changes, including clearly labeling buttons to import friends and send invites.
Reunion also revised romantic things to do in los angeles its sign-up procedures, but Palmieri romantic things to do in los angeles says that doesn t indicate that anything was amiss in the past. The company adjusts with the times and certainly wants to be socially conscious, he says. So, without admitting any wrongdoing, if we can make the site more user friendly we ll accommodate that.
Meantime, some observers are calling for policymakers to end chain-letter-type campaigns. One possibility is that Congress will pass new, sweeping privacy legislation, Grimmelmann says. But even if it doesn t, others romantic things to do in los angeles in Washington might. In the near term, I hope that the FTC will take action, romantic things to do in los angeles he says.
Catholic hospitals' ethics rules caused negligent care for miscarrying woman, says ACLU suit Sexually suggestive sniffing may be sexual harassment, 5th Circuit says Top prosecutor faces ethics case over racial remarks that derailed murder trial One law school's credit rating drops to junk-bond status Doctor's wife is charged in his shooting outside law office after mediation session School calls 6-year-old romantic things to do in los angeles boy's classroom kiss 'sexual harassment' and suspends him Rutgers romantic things to do in los angeles School of Law-Camden is fined $25K and censured for accrediting violations Amish girl diagnosed with cancer romantic things to do in los angeles is responding well to alternative treatment, legal group says Celebrate the 80th anniversary of Prohibition repeal with our 'Mens Rea' cocktail Judge criticized over work-hours Web posts on fantasy game message boards says he will scale back David Foster Wallace's advice on arguing persuasively Doctor's wife is charged in his shooting outside law office after mediation session Sexually suggestive sniffing may be sexual harassment, 5th Circuit says Judy Clarke has a knack for keeping her notorious clients off death row Celebrate the 80th anniversary of Prohibition repeal with our 'Mens Rea' cocktail Federal judge finds 2 cities' public defender programs deficient; will he OK a federal monitor? Embarrassing online ad creates headaches for law firm and profits for video maker Rutgers romantic things to do in los angeles School of Law-Camden is fined $25K and censured for accrediting violations Catholic hospitals' ethics rules caused negligent care for miscarrying woman, says ACLU suit Judge criticized over work-hours Web posts on fantasy game message boards says he will scale back