Advertisers held liable for unwanted adware

I'm not a fan of random ads.

We have all been annoyed by adware while surfing. Adware programs install themselves into your computer and periodically serve up ads while you're surfing the internet. Most of the time, you don't even realize that you've downloaded the adware.

Companies that have turned a blind eye to how their ads are delivered so far must now face the music:

Travelocity.com and Cingular Wireless have agreed, as part of a settlement, to deliver their online advertisements only through companies that fully describe their adware, that obtain customer consent to install it and that make it practical for consumers to remove those programs from their computers.

"Advertisers will now be held responsible when their ads end up on consumers' computers without full notice and consent," Mr. Cuomo said. "Advertisers can no longer insulate themselves from liability by turning a blind eye to how their advertisements are delivered, or by placing ads through intermediaries, such as media buyers."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117009967987591444.html