CompuServe Barbecues Spam; E-Mail Filter Offers Members Choice

Business Wire, Sept 24, 1997

COLUMBUS, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 24, 1997--CompuServe (NASDAQ:CSRV) announced today that it is providing a powerful filter (GO SPAMCONTROLS) which allows individual members to restrict the flow of unsolicited e-mail or "spam" that can reach them online. The spam filter is automatically "On" unless a member chooses to turn it off. CompuServe's e-mail manager, Teemu Kolehmainen, commented, "We won't divulge the specifics of how the filter works any more than a bank would disclose its security system, but it has an excellent success rate in restricting spam. Personal e-mail will not be affected by this filter."

"CompuServe's new e-mail filter is restricting more than 30 million unsolicited messages per week in its testing phase," said Denny Matteucci, president of Interactive Services for CompuServe. "Our members want to choose whether or not they receive solicitations. With the filter activated, a large percentage of the e-mailed solicitations will not get through. This is a significant step in providing technological solutions to the huge spam problem that all online consumers are experiencing."

CompuServe has also updated its policy on unsolicited e-mail. The new policy (at http://world.compuserve.com/online/policies.asp) prohibits unauthorized outside third parties from using any CompuServe facilities or equipment to process, store or send unsolicited e-mail. This follows CompuServe's success in U.S. federal court in preventing a spammer from using CompuServe equipment or fraudulently using the CompuServe name in spam. CompuServe's Member Agreement already prohibits members from sending unsolicited advertising or promotional e-mail to other CompuServe members.

CompuServe is working closely with the Federal Trade Commission on an e-mail industry task force which was an outcome of the FTC privacy hearings in June, 1997. One goal of the task force is to recommend industry-wide technological solutions to stem the flow of spam to consumers' mailboxes, and to ensure that online/Internet companies' equipment is not overburdened by spam. The online/Internet industry hopes to recommend long-term solutions to manage spam that regulation and legislation alone will not provide. There are currently three bills circulating in Congress that address the unsolicited e-mail problem. The Center for Democracy and Technology and the Voters Telecommunications Watch, in cooperation with the FTC, have created a web site (http://www.junkemail.org) where consumers can forward spam and report e-mail that they think is fraudulent.

Founded in 1969, CompuServe Incorporated provides the world's most comprehensive online/Internet access through its two brands, CSi and SPRYNET. Through CompuServe, its Japanese licensee NIFTY SERVE and its affiliates around the world, more than 5 million home and business users in more than 185 countries are connected online and to the Internet. CompuServe Network Services (CNS) is a leading network integrator, providing more than 1,200 companies around the world with complete, fully integrated Internet, Intranet, and Extranet connectivity solutions. CNS also provides the network for CSi and SPRYNET. With world headquarters in Columbus, Ohio, the CompuServe organization includes offices in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

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CONTACT: CompuServe, Inc.

Gail Whitcomb, 614/538-4457

gail_w@compuserve.com