Expanding its campaign against adware, an advocacy group on Monday publicly shamed advertisers who use adware to promote their products.
Advertising money is what keeps the makers of adware in business, and advertisers should be more scrupulous, the Center for Democracy and Technology, a Washington-based public advocacy group, said on Monday. Adware is software that pops up ads, can slow down PCs and often creeps onto computers without user knowledge.
"Knowingly or not, these companies are fuelling the spread of unwanted programs that clog people's computers, threaten privacy and tarnish the Internet experience for millions," said Ari Schwartz, deputy director of the CDT. "Our goal is to eventually cut the funding for adware off at the source."
While recognising that ads might pass through several third parties, such as ad agencies and affiliate networks, the CDT on Monday published names of more than a dozen companies that it found advertised through adware. These include well-known names such as Club Med, eHarmony.com, Netflix, NetZero and PeoplePC.
"We're urging advertisers to be more vigilant to ensure that they aren't unwittingly bankrolling one of the Internet's fastest-growing problems," Schwartz said.
The public shaming of advertisers by the CDT follows the suggestion last month by Jon Leibowitz, a commissioner of the US Federal Trade Commission, of public humiliation as punishment for companies that use adware to promote their wares.
The CDT sent letters to the chief executives of 18 companies whose ads appeared on adware from 180solutions, one of the largest makers of Internet advertising software. The CDT in January filed a complaint with the FTC, charging 180solutions with engaging in unfair and deceptive business practices.
The CDT asked the companies if they had a policy regarding advertising through adware. The names of those that did not respond to the inquiry were published Monday. The other companies on the list are: matchmakers True.com, PerfectMatch.com and LetsTalk.com; uBid; ProFlowers; GreetingCards.com; Altrec and Waterfront Media.
Of all the companies listed by CDT, only Altrec, an online vendor of outdoor wear, responded immediately to a request for response from CNET News.com.
"Altrec has, in the first quarter of 2006, spent a total of $440 with 180solutions," Altrec chief executive Mike Morford said in a telephone interview. "Reality is, at $440 we don't have a relationship with them." Morford could not say if Altrec would continue advertising through adware or if his company has a policy against that.
180solutions rebuked the notion that its software is unwanted by consumers. The company has worked to make its software visible to users and to display alerts when it's installed, 180solutions chief executive Keith Smith said in a statement. "Yet despite all of this, some retain the uninformed notion that our users are duped into installing our software," he said.
The CDT will continue its efforts against adware and its more nefarious cousin spyware, Schwartz said. The group is talking to FTC commissioners about its report next week and also plans to share the information with state attorneys general, he said.
