Dutch regulator slaps spyware purveyors with â¬1m fine
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Millions of PCs infected Telecoms watchdog OPTA has fined three Dutch firms and their two directors a total of â¬1m for the illegal distribution of spyware.â¦
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The FTC said it believes the companies induced computer users to buy its spyware-eradication software, sold for US$30 and bearing names such as Spy Wiper and Spy Deleter, after first infecting
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Big Bill's bruisers buy their way out of the spyware mess.
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A 20-year-old student has been fined for participating in last year's cyberattack against Estonian Web sites.
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France&#39;s market regulator fined Jean-Marie Messier, the disgraced chairman of Vivendi Universal, â¬1m (Â£700,000) last night for misleading investors with over-optimistic corporate bravado over a two-year period that ended in the collapse of his
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Companies and others that secretly install "spyware" programs on people's computers to quietly monitor their Internet activities would face hefty federal fines under a bill the House passed Tuesday.
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A German manufacturer of technology commonly used in personal computers has agreed to plead guilty and pay a $160 million fine for engaging in an international price-fixing conspiracy that drove up computer prices, the Justice
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Vivendi Universal and its former chief executive Jean-Marie Messier have each been fined 1m euros ($1.3m; Â£690,000) by French regulators.
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Telecommunications regulator OPTA, which is responsible for regulating spam in the Netherlands, issued three separate fines on Tuesday, the first since the Dutch government agreed
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SPY ACT would allow fines of up to $3 million for some types of spyware.
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The man at the center of the nation's first spyware case &#151; a businessman notorious for his junk Internet mailings &#151; says federal regulators were politically motivated in targeting him for enforcement of new bills outlawing intrusive software.
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The FTC has won a settlement against a spyware operation responsible for installing malware on users' computers that tracked Internet activity, changed home-page settings and inserted a large frame onto browser windows that displayed ads.
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(InfoWorld) - The operator of two computer privacy services has agreed to pay up to $1 million in refunds to customers to settle charges of using deceptive marketing techniques and selling the customer's personal information. Consumer Digital Services, which sold the Privasafe and SurfSafe software and services, has agreed to pay $300,000 in fines and legal fees and offer refunds to Washington state consumers who were billed for their products, according to Katherine Tassi, assistant attorney general for Washington. Terms of the settlement were outlined in a consent decree filed Thursday in King County Superior Court in Seattle. Consumer Digital Services is controlled by Gary Salmirs, of Fort Lee, New Jersey, who is also named in the settlement. The state alleges that the company violated state consumer protection laws, but neither Salmirs nor the company admit to any wrongdoing in the settlement, Tassi said. According to her, the company lured customers with offers of free gift cards, flat-screen monitors, andÂ software, promoted through pop-up ads and e-mail. Customers handed over personal informationÂ such asÂ addresses, telephone numbers, and dates of birth, thinking that they were getting a free product. "What they actually were doing was signing up for a paid service," Tassi said. Thousands of consumers received unexpected $14.95-per-month charges for the company's software and services, and almost nobody got a free gift card or flat-screen monitor. "Our investigation showed that only one of the over 13,000 Washington consumers ever actually got this free item," Tassi said. Consumers didn't have to hand over credit card information in order to be billed because the charges were tacked on to regular monthly telephone bills, she added. Last year, the Florida attorney general investigated a company called Email Discount Network for engaging in similar billing practices, Tassi said. Consumer Digital Services took its Web sites offline sometime during the past month, Tassi said. But according to cached copies of these sites, the company said that its products would remove spyware, protect consumers against "unscrupulous marketers," make Internet surfers anonymous, and even boost connection speeds. In fact, the "exact opposite" occurred, Tassi said. "They actually were compiling a huge database of consumer information that could be used for marketing purposes," she said. This data was eventually sold to marketing companies, she added. Washington state residents who were billed for Privasafe or SurfSafe products since Jan. 1, 2004, can get their money refunded and will be contacted by Consumer Digital Services. The company could not be reached immediately for comment.
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WASHINGTON - Spyware legislation that would allow fines of up to $3 million for makers of software that steals personal information from a user's computer or highjacks its browser will get a second look after the U.S. Congress failed to pass the legislation in 2004.
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The makers of programs that spy on what people do with their home PCs could face hefty fines in California.
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The Dutch telecom and postal watchdog OPTA has levied fines as high as 42,500 euros ($57,540) against several individuals and small companies for sending out spam messages.
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The US House Judiciary Committee has voted for criminal penalties for individuals that install spyware on PCs and for movie pirates.