- Uber (UBER) files suit against ad agency Fetch Media seeking at least $40M in damages for click fraud.
- Uber alleges learning of the click fraud after asking Fetch to remove its ads from the website Breitbart. Once ads were removed from the affiliated network, Fetch continued to bill for app downloads coming from those ads. Fetch receives a fee when a customer downloads the app after seeing an ad.
- Uber paid Fetch over $82.5M from 2015 to early this year but refuses to pay an additional $7M Fetch says the company owes.
- Previously: Focus on Uber's self-driving fleet (Sept. 19)
- Update: Business Insider has Fetch's email statement about the suit, which also claims that the ad agency ended its agreement with Uber "months ago" due to unpaid invoices.
- Statement from Fetch CEO James Connelly: "We are shocked by Uber’s allegations which are unsubstantiated, completely without merit, and purposefully inflammatory so as to draw attention away from Uber’s unprofessional behavior and failure to pay suppliers. It is unfortunate that Uber would misconstrue facts and use an industry-wide issue as a means of avoiding its contractual obligations."