Facebook Wins Big Anti-Spam Judgment

Facebook has been in an ongoing fight against spam and yesterday announced a significant victory in court. The company said it had obtained an eye-popping $711 million judgment against Spam King Sanford Wallace who had had posted unwanted messages on Facebook users’ Walls. Wallace, who is reportedly bankrupt may also face time in the big house. According to the Facebook blog:

While we don’t expect to receive the vast majority of the award, we hope that this will act as a continued deterrent against these criminals. Most notably, the judge referred Wallace to the U.S. Attorney’s Office with a request that Wallace be prosecuted for criminal contempt, which means that in addition to the judgment, he now faces possible jail time.

Late last year Facebook won an even larger, $873 million judgment against Canadian spammer, Adam Guerbuez and Atlantis Blue Capital.

Facebook implores users to identify and report spammers to the company. Keeping Facebook spam-free helps users but it’s equally critical for the continued health and usage of Facebook more broadly.