Bente Kristine Bakkemo outraged after advertisement for dog Atlas copied by Nytt-dyr.com

Bente Kristine Bakkemo is frustrated and outraged after discovering that her advertisement for her dog, Atlas, was copied and used without her consent by the website Nytt-dyr.com. She posted an ad in September, hoping to find Atlas a more suitable home, but was shocked to find it being used elsewhere without her knowledge. Bakkemo’s sentiments are echoed by other dog owners, who also reported incidents of their ads being taken without permission.

Nytt-dyr claims to aggregate pet ads from various sources but fails to disclose that many of these have been plagiarized from the Norwegian marketplace Finn.no. Some users who subscribed to Nytt-dyr were met with hidden fees and were unable to contact pet owners, leading to feelings of deception. One subscriber reported realizing they had been charged a hefty subscription fee shortly after signing up.

Concern has arisen over the legality of Nytt-dyr’s operations, as authorities emphasize that copying content without permission is against the law. Cases have been documented where the website demonstrated deceptive marketing practices, leading users to believe payment was necessary to contact sellers when, in fact, this communication was free through Finn.no.

The network operates internationally, with connections to various countries and Facebook groups promoting advertisements, drawing attention from users worldwide. Finn.no is actively pursuing action against Nytt-dyr, which has previously operated under different names and continues to confront challenges in curbing the unauthorized use of ads.

The situation highlights the vulnerabilities faced by pet owners who seek to find new homes for their animals in a digital age where content theft is prevalent.