Big Name Advertisers Tap Dance Around Accusations Of Supporting Adware Companies
from the just-'fess-up dept
Almost exactly a year ago, we wrote about plenty of big name companies who advertise on various adware networks, generally pissing off people who never wanted the ads on their computers. The Associated Press has pretty much written an identical article about well known companies that buy ads on adware networks. This one, though has some quotes from advertisers who all try to tap dance around the issue by again pretending that they don't really understand why people hate adware. They all seem to say that they're careful not to get involved with companies that spy on users. However, again, that's not the biggest issue for most users. Instead, it's the fact that the software is installed surreptitiously. That's the issue that these advertisers don't address -- pretending that people are only concerned about the spying part, rather than slowing down their computer and filling up their screen with ads they don't want.
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plausible deniability
People should keep stuff like this in mind when they go after the RIAA and MPAA's enforcement activity. Just because the digital era makes something technologically easy to do and almost impossible to shut down, doesn't mean that behavior should be legalized. One could just as easily attack the reports of lost business and consumer productivity due to adware and spyware, as Mike and others have attacked the RIAA's studies on lost profits due to file sharing.
Some things are just common sense.
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Re: plausible deniability
Tell that to the grandmother sued by the RIAA even though it was obvious she was not a Britney Spears fan. This diffused responsibility only seems to hold water when it is corporations and their associates. Who knows of a web site tracking what companies are using these slimeball marketers? Thanks to the magic of Firefox, I have not been infected with a single piece of this crap, so I really do not know who is currently using these companies...
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