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.