Judge orders spammers to stay away from online advertising for ten years

And I'd bet that most people agree with that decision. In a sense, the Internet is sort of like a public road system, and anybody who drives around like a maniac, running over pedestrians and destroying other peoples' vehicles is going to be arrested and banned from driving. In the online world, disruptive participants should be banned from having access.

I'm not at all saying that we should have licenses to access the Internet -- that would be a disastrous system -- but I am saying that perhaps more Judges should consider banning convicted spammers from using the Internet at all. This approach worked for prosecuting hackers, and in comparison, spammers do far more damage to overall productivity than hackers.

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• In addition to the fine, Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge William F. Martin banned PW Marketing LLC and its owners, Paul Willis and Claudia Griffin, from owning, managing, or holding an economic interest in any company that advertises over the Internet without first notifying the attorney general.
• Neither owner has appeared in court since the state filed the lawsuit in September 2002, said Tom Dresslar, spokesman for Attorney General Bill Lockyer.
• Its missives also lacked a valid return address or the "ADV:" label to mark advertisements, which the state requires.
• State attorneys also claimed the owners illegally tapped into computer users' network connections so the company could send e-mail that couldn't be traced back to its source.
• Lockyer said the 10-year ban could serve as a precedent for other companies or individuals accused of sending spam.