America Online Hails Adoption of Toughest, New State Antispam Law in the Country in Maryland.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

DULLES, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 13, 2004

Maryland Bill Is First State Antispam Law to be Passed Since Federal CAN-SPAM Act Went Into Effect January 1st, 2004

America Online today praised Maryland state lawmakers for adopting a new bill with tough criminal penalties for major spammers that makes it the strongest, most comprehensive junk-email bill at the state level in the country.

AOL helped craft the legislation, endorsed it, and testified twice on its behalf during its consideration before the Maryland General Assembly in Annapolis.

The legislation was adopted by both the Maryland House and Senate late Monday evening in a flurry of activity as the legislative session drew to a close. The bill's sponsors are State Delegate Neil F. Quinter (D-13; Howard County) and State Senator Robert J. Garagiola (D-15; Montgomery County).

It is the first, toughest, and most notable antispam bill to be adopted by any State Legislature in the nation since the federal "CAN-SPAM Act" went into effect on January 1st, 2004. This legislation, if signed into law by Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich, would not be pre-empted by the federal antispam law and instead was carefully crafted to work in tandem with and complement the national law.

"This is a timely and much-needed new weapon in our ongoing effort to protect our members by canning the spam and by pursuing the main targets in the spam war - the kingpin spammers who use outrageous tactics to trick and deceive ISPs and online consumers," said Curtis Lu, Deputy General Counsel of AOL. "This is yet another big step forward in the progress we are making state by state, where we are slowly but surely painting spammers into a smaller and smaller corner from which there's no escape."

"The individuals being targeted by this tough law are not candidates for the reality TV show, 'The Apprentice' - they are hardcore veterans in the spam world who need to be 'fired' from their full-time jobs spamming our members," Lu added.

AOL worked closely with both with Delegate Quinter and Senator Garagiola to help craft The Maryland Spam Deterrence Act and subsequently endorsed the bill in late March. The Act contains provisions assessing the toughest criminal penalties against the most egregious, kingpin spammers who use outlaw tactics of deceit, fraud and evasion when sending junk email.

These criminal penalties, which can be pursued by state law enforcement agencies, include jail time of three, five or 10 years; stiff monetary penalties ranging from $5,000 to up to $25,000; and, asset forfeiture of spammer's personal property.

The longer jail terms and higher fines would be triggered in the law by spammers who perpetrate more severe violations of the bill, repeated violations of the bill, and cross higher volume thresholds of junk email.

The Company strongly supports the bill's 'cutting-edge' approach because it specifically prohibits the outlaw tactics that spammers are currently using to trick ISPs and consumers into opening their junk email, and it offers the best, most current definitions of these spammers' tactics.

AOL worked closely with sponsors of legislation to help craft the bill and ensure that it included the most relevant and punitive penalties. The legislation applies to online consumers in general in Maryland, including AOL members. It also has national implications because it empowers state law enforcement to, if necessary, pursue and potentially prosecute kingpin spammers who are violators of the new Maryland law, no matter where they reside in the United States.

AOL would work with the state Attorney General in Maryland to refer evidence, collected via the AOL "Report Spam" button that its members use millions of times daily, to help pursue and catch offenders of the new law.

AOL's Ongoing Legal Battle Against Spam

AOL has established a long and successful track record when it comes to litigating against spammers. Since 1996, AOL has filed 28 lawsuits against over 200 individuals and corporations accused of spamming members. As a result of its proactive legal efforts to help protect members from junk email, AOL has won Court injunctions to stop the spammers, won millions of dollars in penalties and damages, and forced spammers into bankruptcy.

In recent weeks and months, AOL announced the introduction and endorsement of new state antispam proposals in Ohio and Minnesota, in addition to its advocacy efforts in Maryland, as part of its state-by-state junk email campaign.

In March, AOL joined its industry partners Microsoft, Earthlink, and Yahoo! to announce the first major industry civil lawsuits against hundreds of spammers using the new federal CAN-SPAM law. AOL also filed a civil lawsuit in February in federal court in Florida against four named defendants - dubbed the "Sunshine State Spammers" - who allegedly conspired with international spam operators based in Thailand to route junk email to the AOL network.

And in December, AOL collaborated with Virginia Attorney General Jerry Kilgore and others to announce the first-ever criminal indictments under Virginia's new, stringent antispam statute - in which two out-of-state spammers from North Carolina stand accused of spamming AOL members and could face jail time, asset forfeiture, and monetary penalties.

About America Online, Inc.

America Online, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of subsidiary of Time Warner Inc. Based in Dulles, Virginia, America Online is the world's leader in interactive services, Web brands, Internet technologies and e-commerce services.