Utah anti-spyware law frozen
p2pnet.net News:- A New York online ad company has succeeded in its bid to get a Utah judge to freeze the state’s anti-spyware act.
WhenU, "reaches desktops by partnering with popular software developers," it says. "WhenU enables these software developers to offer their valuable software free to consumers who agree to see coupons and advertisements. In many instances, consumers choose whether to download a paid version or a free, ad-supported version of the software. [our emphasis.]
"WhenU displays its contextual messaging in a broad variety of formats including toolbars, pop-ups, banners, buttons, text links and even display of actual products – such as placing a small graphical replica of a particular model of automobile or cell phone on the consumer’s desktop if they have exhibited a related interest."
Enough said.
Utah was the first state to try to regulate spyware and other online advertising apps. Its act, "targets spyware, which is software that monitors computer users’ Internet activity and sends that information elsewhere, in many cases without users’ knowledge or consent," says the Deseret Morning News here.
"The law also seeks to curb pop-up advertisements, penalizing ads that obstruct Web pages at $10,000 per violation."
The report says Third District Judge Joseph C. Fratto Jr, "granted WhenU.com’s request for a preliminary injunction, according to state court spokeswoman Nancy Volmer, stating that the ‘threatened injury to the plaintiff outweighs the injury to the defendant’ and that WhenU proved that it would have sustained ‘irreparable harm’ if the spyware law had gone into effect."
The act is stayed until a court rules on the merits of the case, adds the the Deseret Morning News.
