EarthLink on Wednesday announced that it is embroiled in a legal battle against an alleged spammer who sent nearly a billion unsolicited commercial e-mails since early last year.

The third-largest Internet service provider (ISP) also said it is testing a new "permission-based" spam-blocking technology and plans to roll it out to subscribers by the end of May.

The company said it will argue to shut down what it calls a "Buffalo, New York, spam ring" that sent more than 825 million unwanted e-mails since March 2002 over EarthLink's networks to its subscribers. The hearing is scheduled for Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Atlanta.

EarthLink alleges that Howard Carmack, who. the ISP calls the "Buffalo Spammer," along with his accomplices, used stolen credit cards, identity theft, banking fraud and other illegal activities, to fraudulently purchase Internet accounts and send spam. EarthLink claims that Carmack "assumed the identities of other Carmack family members and of innocent third-parties to disguise his own involvement in these illegal activities."

"Spam is the bane of the Internet. By taking legal measures to shut down a spammer like Carmack, EarthLink can help preserve the Internet experience for all consumers, not just EarthLink subscribers," said Pete Wellborn, EarthLink's legal counsel who led the investigation, in a statement. "With the Buffalo spammer, EarthLink is continuing its tradition of using state and federal laws to stop spammers."

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