"180 promised that installation 'cannot' proceed without consent. But now 180 tries to back peddle and to weaken its unambiguous statement. The better approach would be to admit that 180's prior promises went too far, and that 180's software cannot actually deliver the benefits 180 previously described."
Smith, in turn took a shot at Edelman, claiming that "thousands of unsuspecting consumers received our software without the opportunity to properly consent to its installation."
That's just what Edelman, and other anti-spyware critics, have long accused 180 of doing. Late last month, for instance, the CDT petitioned the Federal Trade Commission to shut down 180solutions.
"180solutisons said they've cleaned up," said Ari Schwartz, the deputy director of the CDT, then. "But CDT finds this to be deceptive. We want to give fair notice to companies thinking about advertising with 180solutions that they keep this in mind."
That's exactly what seems to have happened. Monday, Azoogle, one of the largest third-party online ad networks, said that it would terminate its relationship with 180solutions as of Friday, March 3, and would no longer place ads through 180's downloaded software.