Jawa Threatens Blog That Accused It Of Cramming, Gets Blog Taken Down By ISP
from the intimidation dept
The JAWA story continues. Yesterday, we posted about accusations from Verizon Wireless that JAWA was effectively "cramming" premium SMS charges onto users' bills, which came about following an investigation (and eventual lawsuit) by Texas regulators. The blog AZDisruptors.com has been highlighting some of the accusations against JAWA while most of the press had kept quiet on it. However, it appears the folks at JAWA don't like that. They sent a cease-and-desist to the operator of the blog (embedded below), Hamid Shojaee, that makes all sorts of accusations against him; claiming defamation, false light invasion of privacy, tortious interference with business relations and criminal harassment.The letter also, oddly, accuses Shojaee of being a cyebersquatter, despite that having nothing whatsoever to do with what's being disputed here, and Shojaee clearly explains why he has the various domains he has. As for the specific legal threats against Shojaee, it's hard to see how the latter claims have any merit. The defamation claim is the key one, but considering that both the Texas attorney general and Verizon Wireless's lawsuits against JAWA seem to make similar claims, it's difficult to see the defamation claim standing. On top of that, since JAWA's CEO Jason Hope is clearly a public figure, the standard for defamation is much higher and, almost certainly, was not met by Shojaee. I'm guessing that JAWA wouldn't even want to get into the discovery phase of any such lawsuit -- meaning this threat letter feels a lot like a SLAPP. Arizona has an anti-SLAPP law... but it is very limited and almost certainly doesn't apply here, unfortunately (all the more reason for a federal anti-SLAPP law).
Separately, JAWA's lawyers contacted AZDisruptors.com's host, SquareSpace, and registrar, GoDaddy, demanding the site be taken down for these reasons. Ridiculously, SquareSpace complied -- without even contacting Shojaee first. This is problematic for a variety of reasons. First of all, SquareSpace has no legal requirement to takedown a site upon accusations of defamation. Section 230 protects it against liability in those circumstances. But, even more to the point, the fact that it would take down the site without first even hearing from Shojaee is really problematic and suggests that SquareSpace should not be trusted as a hosting provider.
Either way, Shojaee is fighting back. He got SquareSpace to put the site back up and has responded to JAWA's accusations against him with a lawyer, who seems well equipped to respond to such bullying. I've embedded the response letter below, but just a snippet:
Your letter, its accusations, and its conclusions are shocking. And you are wrong in every respect...Sounds like the attempt at intimidation isn't likely to work... Oh, and in the meantime, the press is starting to pick up on the story as well.
[...]
I can't close a letter without pointing out the obvious: your letter, instead of addressing Mr. Shojaee's accurate claims about Mr. Hope's business activities, maligns his character and accuses Mr. Shojaee of "fail[ing] to disclose your true motives to your readers." You then go on to list a number of web domains that Mr. Shojaee legally owns in connection with a legitimate business purpose.
The idea that Mr. Shojaee has done anything to apologize for is laughable. It is Mr. Hope who has built a company based on deception; it is Mr. Hope who has illegally used technology to bilk consumers out of millions; it is Mr. Hope who has chosen to interfere with my client's business...
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Filed Under: arizona, cramming, defamation, free speech, hamid shojaee, jason hope, slapp, takedown
Companies: jawa
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The ISP should know better than to take down the blog to start with. The blogger likely should find a new host that won't give in to any random legal letter in the door.
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"Errors" are actually a defense in his case. Because this is a public figure, he needs to intentionally make falsehoods for it to be defamation.
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Sounds like this Hamid guy could have saved a bunch of money if he paid attention to his bill. A $10 increase is something that should be fairly noticable if you are paying attention.
That said I'd certainly like to have the option block any third party from billing me through my cell phone.
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I would rather have it that this is exposed to assist those that may not be as apt at fighting against such an underhanded scheme.
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I think a montly payment should be always opt-in, it is that simple.
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You can blame people for not reading their bill, but the scams catch mostly the elderly and the very young - that is not by accident. It is pretty underhanded when you see it in action.
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Credit cards bills I can see missing things is easier (though a lot of people would be a lot better off if they paid attention to their money)
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Form: Ask A Question-Manage
Topic: Billing/Payment
SUB Topic: General Inquiry
=====================================
Original Question: block 3rd party billing
Question: How do I block 3rd parties from billing or
charging "subscription fees" to my account through SMS services?
====================================
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Says someone with intimate knowledge of Hamid's other charges that might contain perfectly legal and wanted 10$ charges per month.
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Hoth?
Scum and villainy, indeed.
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Re: Hoth?
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Re: Re: Hoth?
Yes, but aside from the confusion of the name of the planet, he was right...Jawas were from Tatooine, of which there was a particular town called Mos Eisley which was the hive of scum and villainy (at least according to Obi-Wan "Old Ben" Kenobi.)
Jawas weren't particularly vile, but they were considered scum. They tended to be vultures, which would scavenge for stuff that didn't necessarily belong to them, and tended to sell broken droids to unsuspecting consumers, but most folks knew what they were buying so it wasn't necessarily a scam, but more of a gray/black market of stolen goods. Unlike this company which is obviously a scam.
Darn, my Star Wars nerd-card is showing. I'll go hide now.
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Re: Hoth?
These guys need to get a lid on this before it catches the attention of George Lucas or they will be on the wrong end of a lawsuit from Lucasfilms.
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Re: Hoth?
It's also already trademarked by a Czech company.
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What service?
What text message service does Jawa claim to provide?
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Re: What service?
That's part of the point. According to the original article (and a few other I have read) they send the messages to get the charge on your bill and then DO NOTHING. They don't actually provide you with anything.
They don't currently have anything on their website indicating that they have a text messaging service that provides you with nothing for $10 per month. I'm not sure how to word that and make it sound pleasing, so perhaps their PR department decided to not advertise it.
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Re: What service?
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Re: Re: What service?
This is precisely the world we live in -- when people realize they are getting royally screwed by this character, no amount of logic will be able to keep him out of trouble -- it takes a little time before we start collecting the brooms and pitchforks and run these guys out of town on the rail.
The amazing thing here is that when the light is shown on this cockroach, he doesn't run -- he makes a fool of himself and turns himself into a huge target for legal proceedings. He could learn a few things from his kind -- disappearing when the light turns on is the only way to survive what is coming, and he hasn't quite mastered that trick. Cockroaches that don't scatter don't live very long, and I suspect that Mr. Hope is going to experience the legal system up-close-and-personal as the wheels of justice start turning (they are slow to start, but they tend to crush anyone who stands in their way once they get going.)
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Re: Re: Re: What service?
Why does Fox News get away with lying and propaganda every single day? Sorry, but this world is messed up, and this blog proves it almost every day. Believe me I wish it wasn't so.
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squarespace
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Re: squarespace
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080312/010015507.shtml
http://www.techdirt.com/articl es/20080630/0311151551.shtml
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Re: squarespace
No. GoDaddy has a very, very, VERY long history of (a) not taking action against even the most egregious spammers while (b) taking arbitrary and rash action against customers who have merely irritated someone or exposed corruption. As a result, GoDaddy is an exceedingly poor choice for registration or hosting.
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I have a strange feeling that he's going to get away with it and retain a large portion of his fortune. People like this make me lose all hope in humanity, it's truly disgusting.
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Fine Jason Hope a couple million dollars (he can sell a car for it), leave the carriers alone (they give the government access to wiretap without a warrant), make Jawa roll in changes to their policies over the next 5 years (wouldn't want to stop them from fleecing customers quickly), and tell the customers (you know, the people hurt by this) that they can wait on hold with their carrier for 40 minutes to get a refund for the charge on the latest bill but they can't get a refund for anything earlier than that.
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Shoot that fucker in the head, a small price to pay for a sharp decline in the number of scams. Really, is Jason Hope so precious that we can't sacrifice him for the greater good? We shot Gandhi and nobody seems to be bothered by it.
Karma Police...
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Have you read his blog on cars? We really need this guy. Perhaps we can let him scam just a little bit.
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Maybe they could add a 3 Story Gothic Mausoleum, next to the 3 Story Night Club currently in the residence! Mourners can zip line over the IMAX theater, and over the basketball and tennis courts to pay their respects!
Please text the word "MORTGAGE" to 72267 (SCAMS) to help pay for Jason Hope's new house. Users will be charge $9.99 per month.
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Seriously, I'm not kidding: shoot the fuck. I'm in Canada and I don't have a gun, but I'm assuming there are lots of people with guns in Arizona. Nobody's going to sue you for shooting Hitler's long lost brother. Seriously, I'll chip in to buy the bullet.
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http://www.nasw.org/users/nbauman/arkell.htm
We acknowledge your letter of 29th April referring to Mr J. Arkell. We note that Mr Arkell's attitude to damages will be governed by the nature of our reply and would therefore be grateful if you would inform us what his attitude to damages would be, were he to learn that the nature of our reply is as follows: fuck off.
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Here's where some of that money Jawa makes goes
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Json Hope
Check out this article from awhile back when Hope was brought up on fraud and scheming charges..(it's long, but worth the read)
http://www.rwf-ent.com/entrada/CAI/Index.cfm
If you go to www.dirtsearch.org and type in "Jason Hope, Arizona" you will see his rap sheet.
Also, he claims he worked at Oracle for 7 years in California.....it's highly unlikely. He was busy with too many court hearings in Arizona. He has been fooling the entire tech community for quite some time..I hope you or someone else can help uncover it all.
Thanks Again,
TP
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A sucker punch to the good guys....
I urge all of you who are aware of this scandal, to know that mobile marketing in it's true form is a helpful tool for businesses and consumers alike. An honest and exceptional company will guard privacy and educate you about mobile marketing...
Also, due to the nature of these charges, it would not surprise me if they are facing potential fines of hundreds of millions of dollars. This fact alone, the exorbitant fines that accompany fraudulent practices, keep the good guys always making sure they are in compliance with best practices and stay up to date on any changes. Otherwise, we have basically committed the equivalent of medical malpractice.....
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Re: A sucker punch to the good guys....
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Legal Question + A Suggested Action We Can All Take
I realize that the provider would not likely honor such a request but the fact that such a request had been made should be a factor.
Also, if a appreciable fraction of the provider's customers sent them such a letter, perhaps tens of thousands, would that not send a signal as well?
Who wants to draft up such a letter and make it available to all of us to send?
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Local AZ Media finally reporting story on TV
Jason Hope comes across as such a nice, honest guy on camera! Not.
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