Utah Trying To Restrict Keyword Advertising ... Again

Eric Goldman writes "The Utah legislature has tried to restrict keyword advertising twice before, with disastrous results. In 2004, Utah tried to ban keyword advertising in adware; that law was declared unconstitutional. In 2007, Utah tried to regulate competitive keyword advertising; after a firestorm of protests, Utah repealed the law in 2008. Despite this track record, Utah is trying to regulate keyword advertising a third time. HB 450 would allow trademark owners to block competitors from displaying certain types of keyword ads. In practice, this law is just another attempt by the Utah legislature to enact a law that doesn't help consumers at all but does help trademark owners suppress their online competition."

Comments

Re:remove the Mormons tag

[Ironchew]

You have experienced the horror of keyword advertising!

Re:remove the Mormons tag

[geobeck]

I think the difference boils down like this:

• Jews and Muslims consider Christ to be a prophet.
• Christians consider Christ to be The Prophet.
• Televangelists consider Christ to be The Profit.