The report,
“Following the Money: How Advertising Dollars Encourage Nuisance
and Harmful Adware and What Can be Done to Reverse the Trend,”
details how through a complicated network of
intermediaries major advertisers pay to have their products
and services advertised though pop-ups and other ads generated by
unwanted advertising software or "adware."
The report dissects the financial relationships behind these
arrangements and identifies several mainstream companies that
advertise through one particularly unscrupulous adware
distributor.
"Knowingly or not, these companies are fuelling the spread of
unwanted programs that clog people's computers, threaten privacy
and tarnish the internet experience for millions," CDT Deputy
Director Ari Schwartz said.
"Because the adware financing model is wilfully convoluted, many
companies may not know where their advertising dollars are ending
up. We're urging those advertisers to be more vigilant to ensure
that they aren't unwittingly bankrolling one of the internet's
fastest-growing problems," he added.
The report urges all companies that advertise online to adopt
and enforce meaningful ad placement policies.
Elsewhere, behavioural marketing firm Claria Corporation
(formerly known as Gator) has announced that it is hoping to sell
its adware business by June. The firm was one of the pioneers of
the adware marketing phenomenon.
