Yahoo's Adware Ties Draw A Lawsuit From Advertisers
from the when-you-lie-with-dogs... dept
Yahoo's ties to adware aren't anything new, but they've prompted a class-action lawsuit saying the company and spyware vendors defrauds advertisers by putting their ads on typosquatting and parked domain sites and displaying ads through spyware, when advertisers paid higher prices for search-based ads. The suit also alleges Yahoo floods the adware and typosquatting channels with more ads towards the end of quarters in an attempt to boost revenues. It's unclear exactly what the problem is with that, but the suit appears to use it as evidence that Yahoo knew they were doing something they shouldn't. Like many things, the real fallout from this suit may be from the PR damage, than any actual settlement or judgment. At least some advertisers appear to be growing annoyed that they're putting marketing money in the pockets of companies riding on their trademarks by typosquatting, while some, like those in this case, allege Yahoo's not delivering the quality of traffic commensurate with what they're being charged for. Click fraud, results full of spyware, people growing fearful of companies making huge money from web advertising -- a perfect storm could be brewing for the likes of Yahoo and Google.
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Um, it should be obvious what's wrong with that.
Contractual issues aside, if I purchase n snerfblats from you, I expect those snerfblats to be of consistent quality. If I have to time my purchases to the quarter, well, perhaps I should be more savvy, but at the very least it is difficult to argue that the seller is peddling a consistent product.
The other issues raised are serious, too. Yahoo has more to lose here; everyone knows they've been at least brushing against the dark side repeatedly and intentionally.
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