The Way the Cookie Crumbles

When online advertising giant DoubleClick was recently caught sharing the contents of its cookie jar with a consumer research organization, the crumbs began to fly.

by Patricia Fusco ISP-Planet Managing Editor [February 16, 2000]

"C is for cookie, that's good enough for me! Oh! Cookie, cookie, cookie starts with C."
           —Cookie Monster, singing somewhere on Sesame Street

A cookie is harmless information that a Web site puts on your computer's hard drive so that it can remember you, the next time you visit.

Cookies are what make personal start pages customizable. Cookies are also used to rotate banner ads, so that you don't keep seeing the same ad, over and over again. For the most part, cookies are good for you, because they make your online experience both fresh and relevant.

Every once in a while, a bad cookie comes along and spoils the batch.

Hand in the jar
The DoubleClick online advertising agency stands accused of using bum biscuits to plunder the privacy of unwitting online consumers.

Due to DoubleClick's raid on the cookie jar, the advertising firm is the target of six lawsuits and the subject of a Federal Trade Commission investigation.

The issue centers on DoubleClick's cookie collection of online consumer behavior and its intent to cross-reference the data with its recently acquired offline consumer database, Abacus Direct.

Privacy proponents quickly condemned DoubleClick's affront to civil liberties. The Electronic Privacy Information Center filed a complaint with the FTC, demanding that DoubleClick obtain the express consent of any Internet user it intends to record.

Crummy excuse
DoubleClick defended itself against the group's accusations by reminding all parties concerned that consumers can opt out of its ad tracking programs.

But the Center for Democracy and Technology said that opting out is a grossly inadequate system because few consumers are aware that their mouse clicks are being tracked and fewer still understand how to utilize the opt-out option.

Additionally, anybody that consented to being tracked by name could be followed on about 1,500 sites where DoubleClick already tracks visitors without knowing their names and addresses.

Proving it's one tough cookie, DoubleClick fought the tides of negative public opinion with five new privacy initiatives. DoubleClick's new measures include placing its own banner advertisements on Web sites as part of its "Internet Privacy Education Campaign."

DoubleClick also said that PricewaterhouseCoopers would start conducting independent audits of its privacy practices.

Old family recipe
Congress picked up its familiar legislative cookie cutter to remedy DoubleClick's raid of the cookie jar.

U.S. Sen. Robert Torricelli (D-NJ) intends to introduce a bill to regulate the use of Web cookies on the Internet.

Senator Tom Daschle (D-SD) announced the formation of a Senate Democratic Privacy Task Force to protect American citizens' online privacy. The group will be lead by tenured Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT).

Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL) announced the formation of a bipartisan Congressional Privacy Caucus, with members from both the House and Senate. Representative Ed Markey (D-MA) has been tapped to co-chair policymaking group.

At the heart of the issue is the fact that it's an election year, and pollsters have found that privacy is currently one of the highest concerns among Americans in this burgeoning "Digital Age."

There oughta be a law?
Is DoubleClick's attempt to maintain dominance of the online advertising industry an issue that Congress should address? We think not. For one thing, DoubleClick has already taken decisive action to regain the trust of the online community it violated with a bad business decision.

• Let the court rulings establish precedence on the issue and decide any further penalties DoubleClick may have to pay.

• Let the FTC and the SEC complete its review of DoubleClick's business activities and levy additional fines, if they feel it's appropriate.

• Let the privacy groups keep their ever-watchful eye on the Web and continue to be the vanguard of consumer's civil liberties.

• Let Congress work to establish baseline statutory personal privacy protections for both the online and offline communities.

• Let the online community demand that in the conflict between privacy and relevancy, we won't be milked for our cookies.

—End