Wednesday, December 29, 2010

I Like This

Daniel Balsam hates spam. Most everybody does, of course. But he has acted on his hate as few have, going far beyond simply hitting the delete button. He sues them.

I can't wait for this to become a trend, and if enough people sue spammers, and win, what a wonderful world it could be.

6 comments:

Gino said...

i see it more as guerilla war against terrorists.

Brian said...

I am just deeply ambivalent about serial lawsuits. I know the standard libertarian line is all about torts, suits, and mediation (rather than state regulation) to regulate business practices, but it just seems to me that this opens the door to guys like this who literally derive a living from suing companies.

There was a This American Life episode recently about a guy in California who makes his living filing ADA lawsuits against local businesses because their parking was inadequate or their sinks were too high. All of which strikes me as an elaborate form rent-seeking that creates perverse incentives for businesses. One example in the TAL episode was that many hotels have handicapped-accessible rooms but make it a (unwritten) policy to not rent them out to anyone that requests them specifically (i.e., to anyone that is likely actually disabled) because they are afraid that they will get sued for not being in 100% compliance with the ADA.

I don't know that a similar unintended consequence exists for suing spammers, but I also don't think spam causes much actual harm to warrant tying up the legal system.

kr said...

A lawyer friend of ours sued and won against a spammer who used his fax number to fax him spams, about 10 years ago ... even though they moved out of the country. It was more or less a waste of his time and the court's time, but he figured it was pro-bono for society, and at least it cost them a bunch of legal fees. And they stopped suing up his fax paper :P.

Maybe if the legal system gets tied up enough the gvt will make a few stronger laws just to stop the individual lawsuits from tying up the system. Stealing resources (even if they are "time" which of course is money) is generally something that becomes illegal as soon as it becomes a bother to the gvt, I'd think ...

kr said...

using, I meant ;).

Gino said...

brian: valid thinking points, to be sure. i well aware of the ass in CA who been doing that very thing, but i see it as a problem with the ADA more than a tort reform one.

the ADA is very specific and precise, and not reasonable in its interpretations. trying to make practical adjustments is an imposibility due to the strnegth of the cripple lobby, which is even stronger in CA, combined with additional CA laws to compliment the ADA.

VLW said...

I love this man! I wouldn't have dropped out of law, if I knew I could do this with my degree.