Yahoo and eBay face China malware suits

Yahoo is facing allegations in China of distributing malware

Yahoo is being sued in a Chinese court for distributing malware. 

The newly-formed China Anti-Malware Alliance announced that it filed suit against the internet giant in a Beijing court on Monday.

The Alliance is also preparing to sue eBay China later this month, representatives told local media recently.

Members plan to file suit against a new website every week from the first 20 firms on a blacklist of 130 alleged malware-distributing websites, according to statements released by the Alliance.

A Yahoo China spokesman admitted to reporters that the firm had installed its Yahoo Assistant software without properly asking for users' permission, but had ceased this practice a year ago.

Yahoo China's legal affairs department plans to fight the case, the spokesman said, according to a report in the China Daily. 

The Anti-Malware Alliance is a voluntary organisation, members of which include a number of lawyers who are contributing their services free of charge.

The organisation is demanding that the accused companies stop distributing malware, make a public apology and pay a symbolic $11 in damages. The suits have been filed under laws pertaining to property protection and consumer rights.

The word 'malware', which includes spyware, Trojans and viruses, is translated into Chinese with a phrase that literally means 'gangster software' or 'hoodlum software'.