• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, April 4, 2006

At least three marketers have recently severed or curtailed their relationship with adware company 180solutions, according to a new report by consumer advocacy group Center for Democracy and Technology.

The marketers, EarthLink's PeoplePC, GreetingCards.com and LetsTalk.com, were among almost a dozen named by the CDT in a report several weeks ago.

Monday's report stated that EarthLink has a policy against using "nuisance or harmful adware" to advertise, and has ended a brief relationship with 180solutions. LetsTalk also reportedly told the CDT that it had curtailed spending on "nuisance-adware-based" advertising to less than 1 percent of its marketing budget, and plans to stop using such services altogether. GreetingCards.com reportedly said it ended its relationship with 180solutions in February.

The CDT's reports appear to be part of the nonprofit's larger campaign to pressure 180solutions to change its distribution model. The CDT earlier this year filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, alleging that 180solutions turned a blind eye to improper distribution practices that resulted in installations of its pop-up serving software without informed consumer consent.

Dan Todd, president of 180solutions, said in a statement that the company's retention rate is greater than 97 percent, and that it typically adds more than 100 new advertisers a month to its network. Todd has previously disputed that the company's installation practices were problematic, asserting that 180solutions had undertaken a variety of initiatives designed to ensure that its ad-serving software doesn't end up on desktops without the owners' permission.