Tag: social media

From Stark

Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna has announced a filing of a federal civil suit against Internet marketing company Adscend Media LLC, accusing the Delaware-based firm of playing a key role in placing misleading links on Facebook users’ sites.

Attorneys for Facebook, the reigning giant of social media, announced their own lawsuit against Adscend at a joint press conference with McKenna in Seattle Thursday, Jan. 26.

Asked if “scam” was too strong a word to describe Adscend’s Facebook advertising ploys, Assistant Attorney General Paula Selis said no.

“I would definitely call this a scam,” Selis said. “This company is misleading you into thinking you’re getting a message from a friend.”

But those messages are installed without that friend’s knowledge, and their purpose is to promote some advertiser’s product while generating revenue for Adscend on a pay-per-click basis, Selis and McKenna said.