The FTC has fined three movie download sites $500,000 for their use of extortionware, reports Variety. The sites, Movieland.com, Moviepass.tv and Popcorn.net, would surreptitiously install software on users’ computers that would result in pop-ups and loud music, with warnings there was no way to turn off these intrusions without paying the sites as much as $99 (specifically, the sites said that users had forgotten to cancel a free trial they had signed up for). The agency claims to have received hundreds of complains from angry users, some of whom actually paid the demand money out of frustration.
The FTC has been going after purveyors of spyware and adware for some time, but the accomplishments are rather minimal, as new sites and scams keep popping up. In many cases, the fines don’t prove to be a good deterrent, as the same companies do it over and over again, slightly changing their tactics each time.
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