mocoNews.net - Media Breakaway Pays $1 Million To Settle Florida Attorney General Case

Mobile content firm Media Breakaway will pay the Florida Attorney General's office $1 million and has agreed to comply with its guidelines on "clear and conspicuous" pricing and terms of service agreements to settle a case brought on by the AG's CyberFraud Section of its Economic Crimes Division.

The Colorado-based content company, headed by notorious spam king Scott Richter, sells ringtones and wallpaper, which were often described as "free" or complimentary" in the internet advertising that publicized their products. When consumers signed up for the mobile content, they were often unaware they had signed on for monthly subscriptions as this little detail didn't seem to be mentioned anywhere. The AG's office said they had fielded numerous complaints against the company, leading to a months long investigation which found "thousands of Florida consumers had received?charges on their cell phone bills for mobile content downloads that they neither desired nor authorized."

Media Breakaway isn't the only content company that McCollum has targeted. Last year, the office sued Italian mobile content giant Buongiorno (BIT: BNG) on similar grounds. This also isn't the first time Media Breakaway has been sued. In June, MySpace won a lawsuit against the company for their spam attacks against the company, in which it was forced to pay the social net over $6 million in damages and attorney's fees. Before the company changed its name in 2006 from OptInRealBig.com, it was sued successfully by Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) and New York State's AG over spam-related charges.

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