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For Immediate Release
Contact: Ari Schwartz, Associate Director Michael Steffen, Policy Analyst Paula Bruening, Staff Counsel
Wednesday, February 11, 2004 - The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) today filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against two companies that are involved in creating, placing and profiting from misleading advertisements that entice computer users to buy an "anti-spyware" product.
The complaint offers evidence that Mailwiper Inc., Seismic Entertainment Media and/or their affiliates engaged in deceptive and unfair marketing practices by changing computer users' Web homepages without their consent and then trying to convince these users that they needed the Mailwiper program called "Spy Wiper" software to protect their computer. CDT has heard from several consumers who have spent hours trying to fix their computer and some who even bought Spy Wiper to no avail.
"This seems to be part of a disturbing trend on the Web," said CDT Policy Analyst Michael Steffen, "a number of companies or individuals are beginning to engage in a sort of cyber-blackmail and cover their tracks through a confusing network of business relationships."
CDT is asking the FTC to investigate Mailwiper Inc.'s and Seismic's responsibility, ensure that the deceptive and unfair advertising has stopped, and obtain relief from the responsible party on behalf of consumers who have suffered.
The complaint to the FTC comes as part of a larger CDT campaign against spyware. In November 2003, CDT released a report entitled "Ghosts in Our Machines: Background and Policy Proposals on the 'Spyware' Problem", highlighting the proliferating "spyware" technologies that appear on users' computers without their knowledge or consent. Upon releasing the report, CDT asked consumers to provide information about their experiences with spyware via a Web site. CDT received hundreds of messages about different companies. Several of these messages were about Spy Wiper and their activities led CDT to investigate further.
"We started to see a pattern of complaints about spyware," CDT Associate Director Ari Schwartz explained, "This case seemed to us to be plainly deceptive and unfair to Internet users so we brought it to the FTC's attention as quickly as possible. We are still investigating others."
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The Center For Democracy & Technology |