AP: AOL Files Lawsuit Against IM 'Spim'

Finally employing the same legal strategy it used with some success against spam, AOL filed a lawsuit last week targeting senders of "spim," spam sent via instant messaging. The lawsuits were filed in Georgia, Virginia, Washington and California in conjunction with partners in a loose anti-spam alliance, including Earthlink, Yahoo and Microsoft. It remains unclear whether courts will apply last year's Can-Spam Act provisions to instant messaging.