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Microsoft Claims 2 Billion Bogus, Unwanted E-mails
Aired June 17, 2003 - 14:47 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Microsoft has a bone to pick with spam. The software colossus says unwanted e-mail is more than a nuisance and warrants more than a technical solution.
CNN's Katharine Barrett is live from Seattle with more on this story -- Katharine.
KATHARINE BARRETT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, that's right. Despite the best effort of Microsoft, AOL, Earthlink and other Internet service providers, spam continues to get through their technical filters. So now they're taking the law into their hands.
Microsoft, at a press conference today, announced it is filing 15 civil law suits against the senders of some 2 billion pieces of deceptive and unsolicited e-mail, what we call spam. They also filed two more suits in Europe today. This is all part of a multi-pronged attack by the company against what Microsoft says is its No. 1 consumer complaint.
As I said, Microsoft and AOL and Earthlink have all filed suits against spammers. AOL and Earthlink filing suit in different cases earlier this month.
But Microsoft executives have lately called this an "online consumer crisis." In a recent letter to Congress, the company's founder, Bill Gates, said that spam was a threat to the viability of e-mail as a communications medium and to e-commerce.
Now that was echoed at today's press conference. Microsoft executives were accompanied by Washington state's top attorney general. She called spam more than just an inconvenience.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTINE GREGORIE, WASHINGTON ATTY. GENERAL: Some 20 percent of spam is where we're getting pornography from. That's coming into the homes of families who don't want to see that sort of thing in their home, for the children or let alone for themselves. Ninety percent of the viruses are passed on by spam. So it's not just a nuisance, it's a huge cost to business. It's a cost and an annoyance to consumers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARRETT: By one measure that cost so business is almost $9 billion in lost time that workers spend screening, sifting and deleting spam e-mail. It also clogs up e-mail servers at those online providers. They say it will also take legislation by Congress, law enforcement actions like we're seeing today, and consumer education to stop the flood of spam -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Katharine Barrett, live from Seattle, thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired June 17, 2003 - 14:47 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Microsoft has a bone to pick with spam. The software colossus says unwanted e-mail is more than a nuisance and warrants more than a technical solution.
CNN's Katharine Barrett is live from Seattle with more on this story -- Katharine.
KATHARINE BARRETT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, that's right. Despite the best effort of Microsoft, AOL, Earthlink and other Internet service providers, spam continues to get through their technical filters. So now they're taking the law into their hands.
Microsoft, at a press conference today, announced it is filing 15 civil law suits against the senders of some 2 billion pieces of deceptive and unsolicited e-mail, what we call spam. They also filed two more suits in Europe today. This is all part of a multi-pronged attack by the company against what Microsoft says is its No. 1 consumer complaint.
As I said, Microsoft and AOL and Earthlink have all filed suits against spammers. AOL and Earthlink filing suit in different cases earlier this month.
But Microsoft executives have lately called this an "online consumer crisis." In a recent letter to Congress, the company's founder, Bill Gates, said that spam was a threat to the viability of e-mail as a communications medium and to e-commerce.
Now that was echoed at today's press conference. Microsoft executives were accompanied by Washington state's top attorney general. She called spam more than just an inconvenience.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTINE GREGORIE, WASHINGTON ATTY. GENERAL: Some 20 percent of spam is where we're getting pornography from. That's coming into the homes of families who don't want to see that sort of thing in their home, for the children or let alone for themselves. Ninety percent of the viruses are passed on by spam. So it's not just a nuisance, it's a huge cost to business. It's a cost and an annoyance to consumers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARRETT: By one measure that cost so business is almost $9 billion in lost time that workers spend screening, sifting and deleting spam e-mail. It also clogs up e-mail servers at those online providers. They say it will also take legislation by Congress, law enforcement actions like we're seeing today, and consumer education to stop the flood of spam -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Katharine Barrett, live from Seattle, thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
