Closing Russia's SpamIt.com Coincides With 20% Drop in Global Spam

GlobeTracker| Until he sets up shop elsewhere, Igor A. Gusev, leader of SpamIt.com, has given the world a spam breather. With Russian officials deciding to cooperate in stemming the global email spam problem, Gusev closed up shop, causing a global decline of 20% in Viagra ads and other unwanted, often lewd spam.

The New York Times reports that Russian president Dimitri A. Medvedev is seeking to legitimize the Russian Internet industry, “moving it away from its reputation as a playground for hackers, pornographers and authors of darkly ingenious viruses.”

In June, Mr. Medvedev met with Silicon Valley executives in California. SpamIt.com California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger led the California delegation in a reciprocal meeting in Moscow on Oct. 10. 

Not to worry. There’s still 200 billion spam messages in circulation each day, with about 65% being blocked by spam filters in many countries.