McCain Attacks Google and Yahoo in Hearing on Malicious Online Ads
Sen. John McCain took aim at Google and Yahoo this morning during a Senate hearing on malicious online advertising, stating the companies “have a responsibility to help protect consumers from the potential harmful effects of the advertisements they deliver.” The Arizona Republican also indicated the responses of the online ad giants during the hearing will compel him to push harder for legislation protecting consumers against malicious ads.
A Senate report published in conjunction with this morning’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations hearing suggested ad industry self-regulatory efforts to prevent ads that disseminate viruses and enable cyber attacks are insufficient.
“The consumer is the one party involved in online advertising who is both simultaneously least capable of taking security precautions and forced to bear the vast majority of the cost when security fails. For the future such a model is untenable,” said Mr. McCain.
