Dutch regulator fines companies for spyware
The Dutch telecoms and postal regulator has fined three companies and their two directors €1 million ($1.4 million), for the distribution of unwanted spyware, computer software installed on a personal computer without the user’s knowledge. The Hague, Netherlands-based communications regulator said that the companies, which collectively operated under the name DollarRevenue, had installed software on more than 22 million computers in the Netherlands and elsewhere. By unlawfully installing so-called adware and spyware over the Internet, the three companies distributed advertising material and obtained access to details of Internet users.
