Sandra Bullock and Ellen Degeneres have been facing legal issues with misleading pop-up advertisements that include celebrity endorsements.
The case highlights an issue with endorsement-theft in the digital era. The tactic in place is known as affiliate marketing, which exploits a series of loopholes in the advertising industry.
The complaint states, "The celebrity endorsement-theft business model is based on a scheme to trick consumers into disclosing their credit card and/or debit card information in order to enroll them in costly programs with undisclosed, or poorly disclosed, recurring charges. Ads for the products typically include unsubstantiated claims that the products will lead to dramatic results.”