For the first time, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) is enacting the new anti-spam law and is fining two companies, Sunlight Network Inc., and Datablocks Inc., who are alleged to have allowed online advertisers to install malware via their ads. The CRTC claims that the companies allowed ads on their services which resulted in the installation of Angler, a “notorious exploit kit” that exploited an Adobe Flash vulnerability. Datablocks president released a statement claiming that the CRTC did not directly notify his company “of anything.” He calls the situation “David vs Goliath” and the allegations were from 2015 and 2016, in which the company had been aware of the situation, and had tracked down and banned the offending advertiser. The companies have 30 days to pay the fines or file “written representations.” Datablocks say they have chosen to fight the allegations all the way to the supreme court if necessary. This is truly an interesting case. Is it a necessary measure to protect consumers from uncaring big business, or severe overreach by big brother government to pad their coffers?
