Zango Not Following FTC Terms

FTC, on November 3, 2006 announced that Bellevue (Washington) based Zango (formerly called as 180Solutions) had accepted to pay a fine of $3 Million that was imposed on it because it used unfair and delusive means to cheat users into downloading its software of advertising. It also disabled users from removing the software from their systems once installed. Simply put, Zango had to mention the pop-up ads clearly that its software program served to PC users. It also had to get consent from the users before installing the software.

Independent adware researcher and Harvard-trained attorney, Ben Edelman, posted a list on his Website on November 20, 2006. In this list, he gave the ways in which Zango is breaching the terms and conditions proposed by it to FTC and also, how Zango is using misleading End User Licensing Agreements (EULAs).

But Zango says that it had been following the new business rules since the starting of 2006 and hence, wasn't breaking any rules.

Eric Howes, spyware researcher, charged that Zango has been violating the rules all through the year, even after the settlement came into effect. He called upon the Federal Trade Commission to convince Zango to take back its claim of abiding with the rules and settlement.

Edelman stated that malpractices are on at Zango. These practices put Zango in breaching of the major requirements and terms of FTC settlement.

Zango application checks Internet usage and serves pop-up advertisements. The software is combined with content like movie clips and games, which, in few cases, are dispatched on social media sites like Google's Orkut and MySpace.

The Center for Democracy and Technology has also filed a statement with FTC, recommending closely monitoring and enforcing the compliance.

Related article: Zango Refutes Passing Adware via Facebook Application

» SPAMfighter News - 11/23/2006