- StopBadware.org launched at the beginnning of the year by singling out Kazaa, SpyAxe, Waterfalls 3 and MediaPipe for special mention as applications loaded with spyware, the software which made Big Four Organized Music family member Sony BMG infamous.
Almost six months later, Washington state attorney general Rob McKenna has filed lawsuits against four Los Angeles firms for violating the state's Computer Spyware and Consumer Protection acts.
Among them is Digital Enterprises, which runs Movieland.com, which in turn operates MediaPipe.
"DO I HAVE A MEDIAPIPE ACCOUNT?" - asks Schrock Innovations, going on, "Yes, you do. If you are seeing the MoviePass, MediaPipe, or MovieLand popups on your screen, you have a MediaPipe account and it needs to be canceled to avoid any additional financial responsibilities.
"The MoviePass website has updated their terms and conditions. In uppercase bold letters they now state that if you use the MediaPipe trial service, software will remain on your computer until you meet your 'obligations' (i.e. pay them a subscription fee)."
According to McKenna in an August 4 court document, “Installation of Defendant's download manager is merely a smokescreen concealing Defendant's true purpose: to install software and other files onto consumers' computers that enable Defendants to launch pop-up windows on consumers' computer demanding payment to Defendants.”
"The defendants in our suit promote a movie download service through Web sites including movieland.com that offer consumers a free three-day trial,” C Consumer Affairs has McKenna stating. "After the trial period, consumers are inundated with pop-ups that appear at least hourly and subject the consumer to a 40-second payment demand that cannot be closed. These messages are generated by software installed on their computers that cannot be easily removed.
"To stop these aggressive pop-ups, many frustrated consumers ultimately give in to the defendants' unfair tactics and pay anywhere from $19.95 to nearly $100 for the service. Thousands of consumers nationwide have complained to my office, the Federal Trade Commission, the Better Business Bureau and others about the defendants' unfair practices."
An FTC complaint also alleges, “the defendants made it difficult or impossible for consumers to uninstall the software,” says the story.
“Consumers attempting to remove it through the Windows Control Panel Add/Remove function were redirected to a Web page telling them that they had to pay the $29.95 fee to stop the pop-ups.”
Other companies named include Alchemy Communications; AccessMedia Networks; and Innovative Networks, as well as Digital Enterprises' Easton Herd and Alchemy's Andrew Garroni.
Also See: Kazaa - Spyware Kazaa slammed, March 22, 2006 McKenna - Norwegian iTunes victory, June 8, 2006 Consumer Affairs - Movieland.com Sued for Spyware, August 15, 2006
