Microsoft used filtering programs from MAPS (Mail Abuse Prevention System), a not-for-profit service, to prevent spam (unsolicited commercial e-mail) reaching its 70 million Hotmail users. The system blocked e-mail from Harris Interactive, preventing them reaching the users for purposes of market research.
Microsoft has now agreed to allow e-mail from Harris Interactive to reach users of Hotmail and Harris Interactive has agreed to dismiss the lawsuit against Microsoft, although Microsoft pointed out that it still does not believe it had any liability to Harris Interactive.
Harris Interactive dropped another lawsuit against AOL last month, also concerning its exclusion from e-mail services. It said that it was now "able to fully communicate with all of its registered respondents who have AOL email addresses."