WWW- Five companies have agreed to pay $1.16 million in fines to settle charges of sending spam without a warning that it contains sexually explicit material, U.S. regulators said Wednesday.
Three other businesses also face lawsuits for allegedly sending improperly labeled e-mail, the Federal Trade Commission said.
Under FTC rules, commercial e-mailers must include the phrase “Sexually Explicit” in the subject lines of pornographic messages to allow consumers to more easily filter them out.
Marketers also must ensure that the messages don’t contain graphic sexual images when they are first opened up.
The companies targeted in the crackdown didn’t actually send out the messages but are still liable because they hired others to do so, the FTC said.
According to the FTC, BangBros.com of Florida agreed to pay $650,000; MD Media of Michigan will pay $238,743; and APC Entertainment of Florida will pay $220,000. Pure Marketing Solutions and Internet Matrix Technology together will pay $50,000 to settle the charges.
The companies also agreed to allow the FTC to monitor their operations to make sure they comply with existing laws.
Three other companies also face lawsuits for improper labeling: TJ Web Productions, based in Nevada; Cyberheat of Ariz.; and Impulse Media, of Washington state.
Microsoft helped in the investigation, the FTC said.