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Cingular, Others Fined For Using Adware

Posted by kdawson on from the about-time dept.

amigoro writes "Cingular, Priceline, and Travelocity have been fined for using adware by the New York Attorney General. The companies will each pay $30K to $35K as penalties and investigatory costs. More importantly, the companies agreed to a series of restrictions and best practices that, while they make eminent sense to consumers, will be loathsome to businesses accustomed to having their way with our computers."

5 of 109 comments (clear)

  1. How much did they make from it? by sqlrob · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If it was more than 30-35K, this is only a cost of doing business.

    1. Re:How much did they make from it? by poopdeville · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Yes, but they agreed to restrictions limiting the kinds of adware they can peddle. If they violate them, they will be violating an injunction and can face very steep penalties.

      --
      After all, I am strangely colored.
  2. How dare they use AG's adware by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    ["Cingular, Priceline, and Travelocity have been fined for using adware by the New York Attorney General.]

    Silly people, they should have used adware by someone other than AG himself.

  3. meanwhile.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    .. A homeless man in N.Y.C was charged 400,000 per music download by the MAFIAA. He said he doesn't even own a computer.

  4. corporations don't made decisions... by zogger · · Score: 5, Interesting

    ...humans do. They need to stop fining "corporations" and instead determine which named human made the offending decision, the guy who finally issued the order to do such and such offending thing, then freeze that guy's salary and compensation for five years (or more, to make sure they don't just raise it quickly to cover the loss to his check) and make that human pay the fine out of his own wallet, exactly the same as when joe sixpack gets a fine.