think companies can't be held responsible if their affiliates spam? from an article about marketing porn on the internet in the wall street journal:

"Last summer, the Federal Trade Commission accused seven online porn companies of violating the federal Can-Spam Act of 2003, which governs commercial email. The government said that affiliates of the porn companies violated a rule requiring the subject lines of emails with adult content to include the phrase "sexually explicit." The spam messages also failed to include a postal address and a means for recipients to block future e-mails, also required under the law.

The government reached settlements with four of the companies for a total of about $1.2 million in penalties. Three other cases are pending in federal district courts. Under Can-Spam, the government argued, the companies are liable for spam sent by their affiliates because they are essentially paying affiliates to send messages on their behalf.

Jon Kraden, an attorney with the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, said the cases let adult companies "know they can't just set up an online affiliate program, tell them not to break the law, stick their head in the sand and let the money roll in."

full story here