Advertiser Accountability Wake-Up Call

February 1st, 2007

The New York Attorney General announced that three of the largest online advertisers Priceline, Cingular and Travelocity, had agreed to pay $100,000 to end a probe into advertising through deceptively installed programs by Direct Revenue, Inc. This develoment follows on Federal Trade Commission settlements with major adware publisher Zango, and Center for Democracy and Technology — ‘Follow the Money’ reports detailing the adware economic model.

“Advertisers will now be held responsible when their ads end up on consumers’ computers without full notice and consent,” said New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. The agreements require each advertiser to deliver ads only through advertising sotware with informed consent to download and control over the software and uninstall. Priceline, has a posted adware policy here, stating their corporate policy against advertising through adware.

Enter, the Trusted Download whitelist.

TRUSTe will announce the initial round of certified Trusted Download software applications in two weeks. Limited to software applications which provide notice, consent and control, the Whitelist is designed to be a tool for advertisers and thier agents to select partners with safe, nuisance-free software.

Entry Filed under: All, Trusted Download