Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna this week
announced the filing of a lawsuit under the state’s computer
spyware act.
“The defendants in our suit promote a movie download service
through web sites including movieland.com that offer consumers a
free three-day trial,” McKenna said. “After the trial period,
consumers are inundated with pop-ups that appear at least hourly
and subject the consumer to a 40-second payment demand that cannot
be closed. These messages are generated by software installed on
their computers that cannot be easily removed."
Frustrated consumers who paid from $19.95 to almost $100 for the
service complained to the Attorney General's office and to the
Federal Trade Commission.
Washington’s suit lays out six causes of action that include
taking control of a user’s computer; misrepresenting the method to
uninstall the software; using threats, harassment and intimidation
in billing practices; failing to disclose material facts; and other
unconscionable business practices and misrepresentations.
If found liable, each defendant could be fined $100,000 per
violation of the state's Computer Spyware Act which prohibits,
among other things, taking control of a user’s computer, modifying
security settings, and interfering with a user’s ability to
identify and remove the spyware. They also face a fine of $2,000
per violation under the Consumer Protection Act and could be
required to pay restitution to affected consumers.
