Editing AOL (section)

=== User list exposure ===
In 2003, Jason Smathers, an AOL employee, was convicted of stealing America Online's 92&nbsp;million screen names and selling them to a known spammer. Smathers pled guilty to conspiracy charges in 2005.<ref name="MSNBC">{{Cite web |date=August 17, 2005 |title=Ex-AOL Worker Who Stole E-Mail List Sentenced |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna8985989 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231018142954/https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna8985989 |archive-date=October 18, 2023 |access-date=August 3, 2024 |website=[[NBC News]]}}, August 17, 2005</ref><ref name="TSG-PairNabbed">{{Cite web |date=June 23, 2004 |title=Pair Nabbed in AOL Spam Scheme |url=http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0623042aol1.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091201093245/http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0623042aol1.html |archive-date=December 1, 2009 |access-date=February 3, 2008 |website=[[TheSmokingGun.com]]}}</ref> Smathers pled guilty to violations of the US [[CAN-SPAM Act of 2003]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 4, 2005 |title=Ex-AOL Employee Pleads Guilty in Spam Case |url=http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/internet/02/04/aol.spam.plea/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100828112527/http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/internet/02/04/aol.spam.plea/ |archive-date=August 28, 2010 |access-date=March 7, 2007 |work=[[CNN]]]}}</ref> He was sentenced in August 2005 to 15 months in prison; the sentencing judge also recommended Smathers be forced to pay $84,000 in restitution, triple the $28,000 that he sold the addresses for.<ref name="MSNBC" />