Alleged “Likejackers” agree to stop Facebook spam
May 7, 2012, 3:37 PM | Updated: 5:17 pm
An alleged spammer has agreed to stop deceptive tactics used to get people to click on the Facebook 'like' button and unknowingly spread commercial messages
An alleged Facebook spammer has reached agreement with the
Washington State Attorney General’s office to stop
‘likejacking’ and other deceptive tactics from sites
appearing to be recommended by friends.
Attorney General Rob McKenna says in a settlement
announced Monday, Adscend Media LLC didn’t admit fault but
agreed to clearly identify messages as ads. The company
is accused of what’s been dubbed ‘likejacking’, where
advertisers trick people into clicking the “like” button
and unknowingly spreading sales pitches to friends.
“So now what we have is an enforceable court order so that
if they or their ad network affiliates break it we can
enforce it in court. And that’s powerful,” McKenna said
in an interview with 97.3 KIRO FM.
Mckenna’s office and Facebook separately sued Adscend
Media’s owners in January for creating deceptive posts.
Under the consent decree, the company also agreed to
maintain a monitoring program for itself that includes
random, daily analyses of their affiliates, and to pay
$100,000 in attorney’s costs and fees
Adscend also settled last week with Facebook in the
separate lawsuit.
“So it is a clear message to the entire marketplace that
the anti-spam law clearly applies to social media when it
comes to advertising,” McKenna said.
