Major advertisers caught in spyware net
Top brands, names we all know, are helping to fan the flames of fear from already leary consumers. BusinessWeek reports: Major advertisers caught in spyware net.
“You can count some big tech companies among its users, including broadband phone provider Vonage Holdings Corp., online employment agency Monster Worldwide Inc. and online travel agencies Expedia Inc., Priceline.com Inc. and Orbitz LLC… These companies acknowledge they’ve used adware to reach potential customers, though they say they shun any programs that monitor online surfing or extract personal information… Even Fortune 500 companies have turned to adware: Sprint Corp. for its PCS mobile phones, major banks peddling Visa credit cards, Sony Corp. and retailers including Circuit City Stores Inc. And Mercedes-Benz USA had its cars flashing on consumer’s computer screens before the company, fielding complaints, put on the brakes… So far, law enforcement has mostly targeted the transmitters. Intermix Media Inc. has agreed to pay $7.5 million in a tentative settlement of a lawsuit by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer… But Spitzer isn’t stopping there. He is threatening to hold accountable household-name advertisers that use adware networks. No longer, says Spitzer, can companies play dumb… That’s making many advertisers nervous, though they insist they work with subcontractors and often don’t know about any adware use until they get a complaint.”
