New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer is suing Direct Revenue, an online ad firm, alleging the company installed spyware programs on consumers' computers, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Spitzer's suit seeks a court order compelling Direct Revenue to provide an accounting of its revenue and for the court to impose some penalties on the company.
"These applications are deceptive and unfair to consumers, bad for businesses that rely on efficient networks to do their jobs, and bad for online retailers that need consumers to trust and enjoy their online experience," Mr. Spitzer said in a statement. "We will continue to side with consumers in their fight for control of their desktops."
Direct Revenue responded in a statement with, "This lawsuit is a baseless attempt by the Office of the Attorney General to rewrite the rules of the adware business. It focuses exclusively on the company's past practices -- practices we and other industry leaders changed long ago -- and says not a word about what we're doing today."
