TRUSTe will offer certification for adware
TRUSTe has announced a program to certify software downloads. Among them are certifications for adware and “trackware” (spyware?). The bullet summary for the article claims this will bring an end to “unwanted popups”. A clip from the article reads as follows…
To be placed on the whitelist, adware and trackware must prominently disclose the types of advertising that will be displayed, personal information that will be tracked, and user settings that may be altered, and must obtain user opt-in consent for the download. An easy uninstall with clear instructions must be provided, and advertisements must be labeled with the name of the adware program. Program participants must maintain separate advertising inventory for users of certified applications. To move legacy users to certified advertising inventory, they must obtain new opt-in consent.
There are entries at sunbeltblog
on this and some of the implications as well as Spyware Confidential and I’m sure others.
180solutions I think is overjoyed by the news as it means that they will have a new cloak of legitimacy by certifying their products and “clearly describing what kind of ads and tracking will be done”. As long as they “get the users permission” they will be a legitimate piece of software whether they popup random ads, track user data, etc.
This likely will mean more advertisors (money) will get invested into these adware networks, and I wonder how many interpretations of “clearly describing what kind of ads and tracking will be done” we’ll see?