Facebook Trying To Get Canadian Spammer To Pay Up

from the spam-spam-spam-spam dept

Tue, Jun 1st 2010 4:20am — Mike Masnick

Facebook has been somewhat aggressive in going after folks who try to use Facebook for spam, winning various high dollar judgments. Of course, you never expect the spammers who lose those lawsuits to ever actually pay up, but apparently in the case of one Canadian spammer, Facebook is upset enough to try to pursue things further. Michael Geist points us to the story of Adam Guerbuez and his gleeful disregard for the ruling against him (Google translation from the original French). Apparently, Facebook won an award for $873 million. In response, Guerbuez has put up a blog that doesn't just mock the situation, but gleefully plays up the huge amount of the award, while noting that he has no intention of paying, and doesn't believe the award applies to him, since he's in Canada rather than the US. Of course, the article notes that Facebook is now pursuing the case in Canada as well, despite the lack of an equivalent to CAN SPAM. This highlights one of the bigger issues with laws like CAN SPAM. As more and more spammers are not even in the US, the law isn't particularly effective. It seems that technological measures to deal with spam are always going to be more effective.

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Filed Under: canada, spam
Companies: facebook

16 Comments

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Lisae Boucher (profile), 1 Jun 2010 @ 5:35am

...more and more spammers are not even in the US...
Just had to pick up my ass, after it fell off while laughing too loud...
Basically, it's a funny story on how Facebook is trying to apply an US court decision on someone who doesn't even live in the USA. As if the Whole World has to accept any orders from the US court. This is just plain stupidity.
So, Facebook started a costly case in the USA against some spammer, getting a verdict that should satisfy them a lot, yet in reality they've won nothing. All they did was increase their own expenses in a facade of trying to show the World that they take this spam-problem serious. They've failed. And now they're trying to convince a Canadian judge to get a similar result...
I even wonder if Canada would ever award an equal amount of damage to Facebook. It seems to me that such ridiculous amounts are just reserved for the US courts...
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IOERROR, 1 Jun 2010 @ 5:51am

New Laws
@Lisae - This is how new laws get into place. I agree Facebook as zero chance of getting that money, but they could put into effect new laws in Canada which in itself is a win. Doing nothing at all really isn't an option IMHO.
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The Devil's Coachman (profile), 1 Jun 2010 @ 6:05am

They would get more satisfaction if they pursued non-monetary methods
Perhaps it would be more of a deterrent to others of this spamming d-bag's ilk if he were to turn up in an alley suffering from multiple fractures, contusions, and lacerations, with no memory of how he acquired them, or who he was, or where he lived. And, the expense to Facebook of having that taken care of in that way would be far less than the current litigation being pursued in utter futility. There are a few organizations with a great deal of experience in this realm, who would be more than pleased to make a deal mutually beneficial to Facebook and themselves, while maintaining the utmost discretion. It could even be the beginning of a beautiful long term relationship. Just a word of advice - keep all communications involved out of any and all electronic media. Word of mouth is word to the wise.
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ntlgnce (profile), 1 Jun 2010 @ 6:11am

Get a clue..
Just because the country in which you live is clueless to identify and solve a problem, doesnt mean its ok to do it. I hope that facebook wins the case in canada too. I hope they garnish his wages for the rest of his life at half of his salery. The point of the HUGE amount was to set an example for every spammer out there. Spam is unwanted by everyone. and only MORONS and dcammers think otherwise. it doesnt take a rocket scientist to grab a few hundred emails and spam them. Hell my 7 year old could do it.
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btrussell (profile), 1 Jun 2010 @ 6:14am

What is spam?

I get more unsolicited phone calls and knocks on my door than I do spam. Can we get these kinds of fines applied to those people as well?

Of the three, e-mails are least intrusive to this human.
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Anonymous Coward, 1 Jun 2010 @ 7:36am

Screwing ourselves by screwing ourselves.
By being so reactionary over a technological challenge, we have chased spammers overseas, and lost the tax revenue, without making a dent in the actual problem. Same as online gambling.
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Lisae Boucher (profile), 1 Jun 2010 @ 7:56am

Re: New Laws
@IOError, would it really have any effect? Or might it just have a reverse effect, since the Canadian Court might feel a bit offended by some US company trying to apply US justice in Canada...
US courts tend to award ridiculously high amounts for damages, which many outsiders just consider just out of touch with reality. Such judgements are often seen as frivolous or plain silly, because it's very unlikely that any sane person would even be able to pay such a large amount. It's completely out of touch with the Reality outside the US, thus the case in Canada would already start with something to ridicule.
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John, 1 Jun 2010 @ 8:19am

Assassinate him.
He should be assassinated. If spammers suddenly just started dieing of gunshot wounds...would-be spammers might thing differently. Maybe the countries that support spammers should be 'nuked too. That would teach those spammers a thing or too.
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Anonymous Coward, 1 Jun 2010 @ 8:29am

This guys is sitting there basking in the glow of the Streisand effect. If they really wanted to hurt the spammer they could have filed about a dozen civil suites against him and kept him locked in expensive litigation for the next 20 years, win or lose it would have sucked the bastard dry and ruined his life. Instead facebook has publicly attacked Canada's legal system by trying to make US court rulings apply in another country. This makes the deuchebag spammer look like a martyr defending international sovereignty from the mean ol' United States.
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Sean T Henry (profile), 1 Jun 2010 @ 8:30am

Re: Re: New Laws
It would be funny if facebook gets mad at Canada if they do not do anything about this spammer and block all of Canada from facebook.
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TheOldFart (profile), 1 Jun 2010 @ 9:02am

Re: Screwing ourselves by screwing ourselves.
*What* tax revenue?

Do you really think that the scumbags involved in spamming are good citizens and abide by normal moral and ethical limits everywhere *except* when it comes to randomly harvesting e-mails to send fake viagra and penis enlarger ads to? You figure they're model citizens otherwise?

Spammer's don't file tax returns. Example:

http://www.justice.gov/criminal/cybercrime/solowayPlea.htm
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Lawrence D'Oliveiro, 1 Jun 2010 @ 5:00pm

If It Was The Other Way Round ...
... and he was a US citizen and resident, found guilty of breaking an overseas law, would you still be so unsympathetic to him?

I keep thinking of the Yahoo Nazi memorabilia case, where a US-based company resolutely fought against being subject to French law. And it seemed many in the US sided with Yahoo.
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CheMonro (profile), 1 Jun 2010 @ 5:12pm

Re: Assassinate him.
You know life would be a lot simpler if we could just assassinate all damn foreigners. In fact, let's just kill everybody we don't like or don't agree with.

Of course that would leave use with a bit of a world population problem. As best I can figure the world population would be just you and me. And I'm not so sure about you...
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TtfnJohn (profile), 2 Jun 2010 @ 8:29am

Re: Get a clue..
Does this mean that TAM has bred?

Anyway, get a clue yourself. Canada doesn't have a direct equivalent to CAN SPAM but there are still laws forbidding the practise.

As for the amount of the award Canadian courts aren't in the habit of granting awards the size of the GDP of a small country. What's the point, after all, if you'll never see it?

And as for 7 year olds, does being 7 explain your love of the caps lock key and your atrocious spelling, grammar and geographical knowledge?
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Anonymous Coward, 20 Jul 2010 @ 8:56pm

spam, big freaking deal, hit the delete key and move on with life, don't remember gazillion dollar lawsuits against direct mail adverts, you threw the junk mail away and moved on with your day

and how has the spammer "cost" facebook 875 million dollars in lost revenue???

oh yeah, they haven't
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