Firm Can Resume Pop-Ups, Judge Rules

A San Diego company may continue to send pop-up ads to computer users despite government charges that they are being used to extort money from consumers, a federal judge has ruled.

U.S. District Judge Andre Davis lifted a restraining order that had barred privately held D Squared Solutions from using an obscure feature in Microsoft Corp.’s Windows operating system to send ads to a computer user’s screen promoting software to block pop-ups, according to court records.

The judge rejected the FTC’s request for an injunction that would have kept the ban in place, saying he needed more evidence before he was comfortable imposing a ban on the company, said Anthony Dain, a lawyer for D Squared.

Dain said company executives had not decided whether they would resume sending the messages.

From Reuters