High profile outfits sued for adware

PRICELINE, Travelocity, and Cingular, have agreed to pay fines after advertising through nuisance adware.

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said that the three have agreed to pay fines and reform their practices.

According to pressesc.com, Cuomo said that advertisers will now be held responsible when their ads end up on consumers' computers without full notice and consent.

Cuomo added that advertisers can no longer insulate themselves from liability by turning a blind eye to how their advertisements are delivered, or by placing ads through intermediaries, such as media buyers.

The three used an outfit called Direct Revenue installed adware programs onto millions of computers worldwide. These adware programs were difficult to uninstall and those who managed to do so would still get bothered by spam.

This does not mean that the three will stop using adware. The Attorney General only managed to get them to agree to only advertise through companies that provide to consumers with better information. They will only be able to use those companies that have easily removable adware programs.

The fines were fairly lightweight too Priceline and Cingular will pay $35,000 each while Travelocity will pay $30,000, according to this site. µ