According to lawyers acting in the class action, US-based DoubleClick last year served more than 630 billion ads on the internet for thousands of customers. The complaint is that the company deceptively and fraudulently commandeered millions of internet users to the commercial web sites of DoubleClick's customers through dissemination of tens-of-millions of fraudulent internet advertising banners that impersonated computer system messages.
Using what the firm calls Fake User Interfaces (FUIs), the ads appear as interface elements, such as dropdown menus, search boxes or computer and system error messages, to trick users into clicking them.
The complaint requests that the court prohibit DoubleClick from using the deceptive adverts and asks for punitive damages of $500 per class member, and $5 compensation for each deceptive advert.
Stanley Ference, an attorney acting for the plaintiffs remarked:
"Users of deceptive business practices are employing the internet to deceive millions of people around the world. A business practice prohibited in your local community does not become acceptable because it is used on the internet to deceive millions of people."
The complaint is identical to one lodged last November against Bonzi Software, and which settled in May this year after Bonzi agreed to ensure that the word "advertisement" was included on the banners concerned.
As yet DoubleClick has made no comment.
A copy of the complaint is available here.
