FTC wins bid to halt sexually explicit e-mail

WASHINGTON -- Claiming a victory against X-rated spam, the Federal Trade Commission said yesterday it had won an order to shut down illegal Internet advertising for six companies accused of profiting from sexually explicit e-mail.

A federal judge in Las Vegas granted the commission's request for a temporary restraining order against the companies, their executives, and an affiliate for allegedly violating federal laws regulating commercial electronic mail, commonly known as spam.

The FTC sought an injunction halting the network's illegal e-mail ads. The judge agreed Jan. 5 to a temporary ban. Pornographic spam is especially nettlesome because it can be delivered to the electronic mailboxes of children.

Frank Cremen, who represents the companies named in the complaint, said that his clients have ''no quarrel" complying with the law, and that the spamming had stopped before the FTC filed its complaint.