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A civil rights organization is suing antivirus provider Avast. For years, the company shared data from millions of Dutch users with advertisers. Privacy First-affiliated civil rights organization CUIC
A civil rights organization is suing antivirus provider Avast. For years, the company shared data from millions of Dutch users with advertisers.
Privacy First-affiliated civil rights organization CUIC is filing a lawsuit against Avast. The Czech antivirus provider fell into disrepute in 2019 after it was revealed that it collected data from millions of users via its free browser extension between May 2015 and January 2020 and resold it to advertisers. This ranged from more general data, such as web history and search queries, to data that users might prefer to keep to themselves, such as: B. Visits to pornographic websites.
A spokesman for the CIUC told the Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad of “fraud on a large scale”. “The world is upside down. You install an antivirus to protect your PC and get spying in return. We think this is a big scandal. It is bizarre that Avast, a company synonymous with online safety, collectively betrayed our trust.”
In 2020 Avast changed hands. The buyer Gen Digital then promised to stop data trading immediately and also openly apologized for his daughter’s misconduct. However, talks between management and CUIC did not result in a reconciliation. It’s the first mass lawsuit the Dutch organization has launched and they want to make a clear statement. CUIC demands compensation of 800 to 1100 euros for each duped Dutchman.
It’s still unclear how big Avast’s trade was at its peak. The transactions went through a subsidiary called Jumpshoot. In 2018, the company claimed to have unique data from hundreds of millions of devices. Avast antivirus software has been installed on more than 400 million devices. Dutch citizens who used the antivirus between 2015 and 2020 can register for a claim via the CUIC website.
It remains to be seen whether lawsuits will also be filed in other countries. The scandal once again reminds us of a very important lesson: free software is seldom truly free. If you’re not paying with money, you’re most likely paying with your data. The sun rises for free.
Source: IT Daily
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