In Click Fraud Suit, Yahoo! Settles for a Draw with Checkmate
|
Written By Reprise Media | June 29, 2006 | Share This
|
|
In a result that has both parties feeling like winners, a federal judge has approved a settlement for a class action click fraud suit brought against Yahoo! last June by Checkmate Strategic Group, says BetaNews.
Yahoo! has agreed to pay $4.95 million in legal fees, and to investigate claims going all the way back through January 2004 to see if refunds are in order for advertisers who say they’ve been bilked by fraudulent clicks (Yahoo!’s usual policy is that such instances must be brought to their attention within 60 days). A retired federal judge will keep an eye on those extended claims proceedings. Chris Sherman has a great write-up at Search Engine Watch, and he notes that there’s no ceiling on the amount that can be repaid to Yahoo!’s advertisers if click fraud is detected.
Y! thinks that this settlement also covers a another click fraud suit brought against Google by Lane’s Gifts, in which Yahoo! was named as a co-defendant. Big G settled that one with a $30 million payoff to the lawyers and $60 million in advertising credit, whereas Yahoo! is offering cash.
Under the Checkmate settlement, Yahoo!’s agreed to several additional provisions. They’re offering a behind-the-scenes look at how they battle click fraud once a year, to a “panel of individual advertisers.” They’re also appointing a Traffic Quality Advocate to go to bat on advertiser behalf, kind of like a click fraud ombudsman. You can find more detail about the settlement in Yahoo!’s press release, found here.
Topics: Click Fraud |