Following Zhongsou.com, Yahoo! China, one of the country's leading Internet search engines, has become the second defendant in a legal campaign launched by a grassroots netizen organization against "hooligan" software applications.

The Beijing-based Anti-hooligan Software Federation began court proceedings against Yahoo! China in the Haidian District People's Court on Monday, accusing the search website of the forced installation of immovable software, principally Yahoo! Assistant, on Internet users' computers.

Yahoo! Assistant is a browser "helper" for Internet Explorer, "popping-up" without permission on computers and providing unwanted information.

Generally, hooligan software includes such things as adverts (which you don't want to look at), spyware (which can steal your personal information), trackware (which records your surfing preferences) and malicious software like pornographic information, which pop up uncontrollably and provide backdoors for viruses.

Dong Haiping, leader of the federation, said it is demanding 94 yuan (US$11.7) in compensation from Yahoo! China.

According to Dong, the classification of hooligan software is based on majority opinions among netizens and professionals within the IT industry.

"Our appeal is mainly based on property rights in Civil Law and the Consumer's Interest Protection Law. We are confident we will win the case as we have collected enough proof before deciding to sue," he said.

Gong Meng, a spokesman for Yahoo! China, told China Daily yesterday that though it has as yet not received any court orders, the firm's legal affairs department is preparing evidence to fight the case.

He explained that since technical adaptations last September, the company now asks for a user's permission before the installation of Yahoo! Assistant, arguing that "saying the tool is hooligan software does not hold water."

Yahoo! Assistant allegedly helped to generate as much as 200 million yuan (US$25 million) for the company before June 2005.

The money comes from firms paying for their company names to be given priority on a "list" of possible products or services when a particular search is entered.

The federation also launched proceedings against China Search Engine (Zhongsou.com) earlier this month.

Dong Haiping said the legal spat will be long-term, as his federation plans to sue 20 companies in total once enough proof has been collected. Leading websites such as Ebay.com and Baidu.com are also included.

Dong, unwilling to reveal his profession, claimed he, like the rest of the 60-member federation, is a victim of hooligan software. He also denied rumors that the federation was being manipulated by IT companies rivaling the defendants, emphasizing that it is a voluntary organization benefiting from no commercial relationships with IT companies.

The campaign is thought to be the first of its kind launched by netizens against software companies.

Experts said the absence of legislation in preventing hooligan software has added to the difficulties inherent to fighting such cases. "The country should strengthen legislation in the field and better protect the interests of netizens," said Huang Jinshen, a voluntary lawyer with Dong's federation.

The lawsuit received heated response among netizens. "These 'gang' softwares harass us enormously. They pop up as soon as I log on the website and can record my personal information without my being aware of it. This poses a great threat to personal privacy," said Wang Xiongjun, a student at Peking University.

(China Daily September 13, 2006)