ACS:Law founder named Internet Villain of the Year at ISPA Awards

In what is sure to be seen as yet another highlight to his year, ACS:Law founder Andrew Crossley has been named Internet Villain of the Year at the ISPAs.

The lawyer is facing a decision from the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal after being accused of sending threatening and bullying letters for settlement payments over alleged illegal downloading. 

Consumer group Which? had received more than 150 complaints about ACS:Law, which led to an investigation by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) into its practices. It was accused of sending letters to alleged file sharers, reportedly including instances of pensioners who had no idea what they were being accused of, asking for a payment of around £500 to settle and so avoid being taken to court.

In May this year, Crossley was fined £1,000 in a separate incident, after details of alleged file sharers were leaked online after his site was hacked. This followed a security breach at ACS:Law, leading to a fine from the Information Commissioner's Office for having insufficient online security in place to protect this private information. The fine would've been more severe if Crossley hadn't previously ceased trading as ACS:Law, making him unable to pay a fine which could have been as high as £200,000.

The ISPAs are the annual awards given by the Internet Service Provider's Association, which counts among its members BT, BSkyB and Virgin Media (not to mention Broadband Genie). Crossley did not attend the ceremony to receive his award.