Edelman

A class-action lawsuit was filed Monday against Yahoo and unnamed third-parties, accusing them of "syndication fraud" against advertisers who pay Yahoo to display their ads on search results and on partner sites, reports Brian Krebs on the Washington Post's Security Fix blog (via Slashdot). The suit not only claims that Yahoo displayed ads via spyware and adware and on typosquatter sites but also alleges that Yahoo "is conspiring to boost revenue" by using its relationship with such sites "to gin up extra revenue around earnings time," according to Krebs.

The suit (pdf) against Yahoo was filed in federal court in New Jersey.

"Yahoo ought to settle this case, but they ought never have allowed this problem to fester to the extent that it has," Ben Edelman, an attorney of record on the case, is quoted as saying. Among the "spyware vendors" named in the complaint are Direct Revenue and Intermix, both of which have been sued by NY Attorney General Eliot Spitzer.