Priceline, Travelocity and Cingular Settle Over Adware Charges

Image courtesy of This settlement marks the first time the advertisers have been held responsible for how their ads were delivered. "Advertisers can no longer insulate themselves from liability by turning a blind eye to how their advertisements are delivered, or by placing ads through intermediaries, such as media buyers," a statement from the New York Attorney General's Office said. "The settlement calls for Priceline.com, Travelocity and Cingular, the wireless unit of AT&T, to pay New York $35,000, $30,000 and $35,000, respectively, to cover penalties and investigatory costs." Is $35,000 enough to make a company think twice? —MEGHANN MARCO

From CNet:

Priceline.com, Travelocity.com and Cingular Wireless have settled over charges that they used secret adware Internet software programs as marketing tools, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said on Monday.

This settlement marks the first time the advertisers have been held responsible for how their ads were delivered. “Advertisers can no longer insulate themselves from liability by turning a blind eye to how their advertisements are delivered, or by placing ads through intermediaries, such as media buyers,” a statement from the New York Attorney General’s Office said. “The settlement calls for Priceline.com, Travelocity and Cingular, the wireless unit of AT&T, to pay New York $35,000, $30,000 and $35,000, respectively, to cover penalties and investigatory costs.” Is $35,000 enough to make a company think twice? —MEGHANN MARCO

Priceline, Travelocity, Cingular settle over adware charges [CNet]

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