McKenna
NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) – Adscend, the company accused of "likejacking" schemes on Facebook, is drawing attention to the inexpensive nature and lower-key promotion of its settlement with Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna.
The company, which has links to West Virginia, said last week the $100,000 settlement was a "far cry" from the initial claims made by McKenna when he announced his lawsuit against the company in January. McKenna said then that the company made $20 million from the alleged scheme.
The alleged "likejacking" scheme involved tricking Facebook users to click the "like" button and spreading sales pitches to friends.
"The State apparently lost confidence in its case and wanted to quickly bring an end to it," said Adscend's attorney, Mark Rosenberg of Tarter Krinsky and Drogin.
"Our contention from the outset was that this case had no merit and we believe the outcome validates our position."
The company did not admit to any wrongdoing in the settlement, either. It did, however, agree to stop the practice.
Facebook also sued Jeremy Bash and Fehzan Ali, the owners of the company. Adscend is a Delaware-based business owned by Bash of Huntington, W.Va., and Fehzan Ali of Austin, Texas.
"Today's settlement puts a stop to Adscend's 'likejacking' and other misleading tactics that led Facebook users to fork over personal information or buy subscription services from sites that appeared to be recommended by friends," McKenna said.
McKenna says the companies initiated posts to Facebook pages that appeared to offer visitors an opportunity to view scandalous or provocative content. Instead, users had to go through a series of steps that led them to commercial websites, he added.
He made the comments in a press release. Adscend noted that McKenna held a press conference to announce the filing of the lawsuit but not the resolution of it. McKenna is running for governor.
From Legal Newsline: Reach John O'Brien by e-mail at jobrienwv@gmail.com.