If I have traffic from adware or spyware programs, is that legal? I don't steal private information, only traffic? Any idea, please?
What do you mean by legal? If you mean is it acceptable traffic for AdSense then it is against the ToS. If you mean actually against the law, then it is a more complicated question. Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Adult Friend Finder just got hit with a fine by the FTC for displaying (through affiliates) sexually explicit ads when people were not looking for them. In this case it was the content of the ad that made them illegal. In 2003 a judge ruled that pop-ups were legal in a lawsuit against When-U. However, the governing factor there was that the terms of use that was part of the software that people downloaded said specifically that it would do this. So the consumer consented. Companies went from suing the ad networks to suing the advertisers. Many of those cases were settled rather than taken through court. In 2006 Direct Revenue was sued for secretly or deceptively putting adware in their downloads. So, it looks like currently adware can be legal, but how you choose to implement it may change that.
Thank you for answers JJC are you sure? (I mean software, which is on user PC, and it load browser on his/her PC from time to time. I think this is adware.) In my case I don't mean adsense.I want to put my affiliate link (from affiliate network). I want to promote antivirus(anti-spyware software).This is not "explicit" content. Do I need to contact to my affiliaite network for that? And yes, I also mean is this against the law? Also I'm not from US, so do I need to care about US-laws, or for these in my country? Thank you in advance
You would have to read the terms and conditions of the specific affiliate network. Some allow it, but most don't. Have you ever noticed that the best selling and most successful anti-virus/spyware products are not involved with this type of marketing? Personally, I think the type of thing you are talking about is horrible and what makes it easier for legislators to get public support to put more legal restrictions on the internet. That being said, whether or not it is illegal in your country I wouldn't know. I don't even know what country you're from. For the most part, you would need to worry about those above any other countries. Whether you need to obey other countries' laws would depend mostly on what country you were in, how exactly you had your business set up, and what exactly you did. Given the brief description you did, I don't see other countries coming after you with police, but a lawsuit might be possible.
Thank you bluegrass special Very helpful, but actually, I want to ask who actually will sue me(IF)?These people are some countries? And for me it is very important to understand, actually what is illegal: A) the process that someone "infect" someone's PC, or B) the advertising Let's say I have this traffic, but I'm not the person who have "infected" the PCs?Are my activities illegal in that case?
It is the act of deceptively placing such software on people's computers that is illegal in the US. As to who would sue you, if you are the advertiser (and not the distributor of the software), then you would not be liable for the infecting. What could happen (though not likely unless you have a massive advertising campaign) is that you could be sued by competitors. This would depend on when and how your ads are displayed. Some companies have sued the advertisers when the competing ads are displayed when a person goes to that site. For example, if the software you advertise through shows your ads when somebody goes to adaware's website, then they might sue you. If the software just puts a pop-up on the screen every few minutes then there isn't much that could be done to you.