Critics Attack Doubleclicks Web Tracking as Intrusive

"DoubleClick has grown rapidly into an Internet advertising powerhouse over the last few years with two business strategies. First, it licenses to 11,000 clients software that places advertisements on Web pages. But its far more controversial business is a service it provides to its advertising network, the 1,500 companies that receive their advertisements directly from DoubleClick: monitoring the behavior of individual consumers as they move around the Internet sites that Doubleclick is affiliated with."

"The information it gathers is aggregated in a huge database, which enables the company to personalize the ads people see when they visit its network's Web sites -- ads that play directly to an individual consumer's interests and buying habits. Advertisers love the advantages this gives them in focusing on precisely the right buyers."

"Privacy advocates, though, have never been comfortable with the fact that few consumers realize they are being monitored, and that when they do realize it, they often find it difficult to opt out -- that is, to instruct DoubleClick not to track their online activities. Privacy concerns are increasing because DoubleClick's new Abacus Alliance service, created after DoubleClick bought th"

"In recent weeks, though, mere tension has grown into all-out war with the announcement that the company has begun adding information about consumers' offline behavior to its vast database. One advocacy group, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, said last week that it was preparing a complaint to the Federal Trade Commission about DoubleClick's tracking practices. Another, the Center for Democracy and Technology, announced a campaign to persuade consumers to opt out of DoubleClick's tracking system."

DoubleClick tracks consumers as they move across the Web and has faced criticism from privacy advocates. The company licenses software to thousands of clients that places advertisements on Web pages, and it also runs a service for an advertising network of companies that receive ads directly from DoubleClick. This service monitors individual consumer behavior across affiliated Internet sites, aggregates the information in a large database, and uses it to personalize ads based on interests and buying habits. Privacy advocates object to limited consumer awareness and difficulty opting out of tracking. Opposition has grown further with the addition of offline behavior information through the Abacus Alliance service, prompting complaints and opt-out campaigns.

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