Over the past few years, computer crimes and annoyances have become an increasingly important part of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's work. In the past year, the FTC has announced settlements with spammers, adware distributors, and even Sony BMG Music Entertainment, over its distribution of rootkit software.

FTC Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras recently sat down with the IDG News Service to discuss some of the work her organization is doing to keep the scammers and criminals at bay. She talked about the Sony settlement, the role that online advertisers play in the adware and spyware plague, and whether buried disclosures in licensing agreements really count.

Following is an edited transcript of the interview.

IDGNS: Although there's this perception that much of online criminal activity happens outside of the U.S., there's actually a lot of money that makes its way to the pockets of U.S. spyware vendors, hosting providers, and even advertisers. What can the FTC to go after the U.S. money?

Majoras: It's a very interesting point. I spoke [recently] to a corporate council. I told them that corporate America in general ought to do a better job of figuring out where their ad dollars are going. Because what we think is happening is that some of the ad dollars are making their way to adware providers who may be providing the software without the consumer's knowledge and consent. And these companies may not even know about it at the end of the day.

If I were a company, I wouldn't think that having a consumer bombarded with pop-up ads advertising my product would be a great way to sell.

We want companies to have a better understanding of where these advertising dollars are going, so in a couple of our high-profile spyware cases, like the one against Zango, we tried to be very public. That's a company that has changed its business model now. They have told us, "We've changed our ways; we're going to do things differently." But the people who hire them need to understand exactly what is going on with this advertising.

IDGNS: Well, you could get their attention if you sued them. Do you think that's likely?

Majoras: That would certainly get their attention. I don't know right now.

IDGNS: You recently settled an action against Sony over its use of rootkit technology to protect copying. That was a case of computer owner's property rights bumping up against the entertainment industry's enforcement of its intellectual property rights. Do you anticipate more of this type of conflict in the future?

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.