Commissioner Jon Leibowitz was the sole dissenter in the FTC’s 4-1 decision against DirectRevenue and issued a separate statement.
“In this consent agreement, Commission staff obtained strong injunctive relief that will put an end to practices that allowed DirectRevenue to foist unwanted software on untold millions of consumers. But the $1.5 million in monetary relief that the Commission obtained as part of the consent agreement is a disappointment because it apparently leaves DirectRevenue’s owners lining their pockets with more than $20 million from a business model based on deceit.â€
“I would rather go to trial and risk losing than settle for a compromise that makes an FTC action just a cost of doing business.”
Dissenting Statement of Commissioner Jon Leibowitz. (PDF)
The settlement statement (PDF) notes that it “does not constitute an admission that the law has been violated as alleged.”
No news there, DirectRevenue has a long history of denial and blaming affiliates.
Direct Revenue’s Dirty Documents by Ben Edelman
Federal Trade Commission
February 16, 2007
Will Give Up $1.5 Million in Ill-Gotten Gains for Unfair and Deceptive Adware Downloads
DirectRevenue LLC, a large adware distributor, and four of its principals have agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that they used unfair and deceptive methods to download adware onto consumers’ computers and then obstruct them from removing it, in violation of federal law. The settlement bars future downloads of DirectRevenue’s adware without consumers’ express consent and requires DirectRevenue to provide a reasonable and effective way for consumers to locate and remove the adware from their computers. The settlement also require DirectRevenue to give up $1.5 million in ill-gotten gains.
DirectRevenue’s adware infected computers worldwide,†said FTC Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras. “The FTC settlement brings unauthorized software downloads to a halt and stops DirectRevenue from sending pop-up ads to computers affected by prior unlawful downloads.
Full Article
Press release from the New York State Attorney General’s Office.
NEW YORK, NY (January 29, 2007)—Attorney General Andrew Cuomo today announced that New York has reached ground-breaking settlements with three major online advertisers for promoting products and services on the Internet through deceptively installed programs known as “adware.†The agreements, with Priceline.com Incorporated (“Pricelineâ€), Travelocity.com LP (“Travelocityâ€) and Cingular Wireless LLC (“Cingularâ€) mark the first time law enforcement has held advertisers responsible for ads displayed through adware.
The settlements grew out of the Internet Bureau’s investigation of DirectRevenue. People of the State of New York v. Direct Revenue, LLC.
Priceline, Travelocity and Cingular, among others, were discovered to have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars delivering ads through Direct Revenue software. Not a surprise, many legitimate companies fund the proliferation of adware with their advertising dollars, despite anti-spyware activists.
Ben Edelman “Spyware”: Research, Testing, Legislation, and Suits
180solutions. direct revenue, zango
Ben Edelman and Eric Howes:
Update December 8: Our follow-up comment to the FTC discusses additional concerns, further ongoing bad practices at Zango, and the special difficulty of enforcement in light of practices seemingly not prohibited by the proposed settlement.
Additional Comments on Improper Zango Practices. (PDF)
Article
