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DoubleClick Under Attack Again

Privacy group files FTC complaint alleging ad firm's "deceptive acts."

By Keith Perine, The Industry Standard   

The Electronic Privacy Information Center charges that DoubleClick is violating a section of the law forbidding "unfair and deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce." EPIC's complaint centers on DoubleClick's "Abacus Online," a secret group of DoubleClick's clients for which the advertising company tracks Web surfers' habits using online data, such as IP addresses, with offline data such as names, postal addresses, and catalog purchase histories.

DoubleClick bought access to a trove of such offline data last year when it acquired Abacus Direct, a marketing firm. Privacy advocates asked the FTC to block the merger, but the commission declined to do so. DoubleClick signaled its intent to start combining online and offline data in June 1999 and again in November 1999, when the merger was finalized. But the issue lay dormant until a recent media report "revealed" the practice.

Privacy advocates say Abacus Online excessively infringes on consumers' privacy rights. Furthermore, advocates say, DoubleClick's new practice improperly contravenes a previous DoubleClick privacy policy promising complete anonymity to Web surfers.

"DoubleClick's collection of information about Internet users, through the placement of [software] cookies on users' computers and the linkage of cookie-generated data with information contained in the Abacus database, is likely to cause substantial injury to consumers," alleges the complaint.

Freedom of Choice?

The company maintains that it combines the data to better serve consumers surfing the Web. Furthermore, DoubleClick says the companies and Web sites participating in Abacus Online must provide consumers with clear notices and a chance to opt out of such data compiling.

"DoubleClick will only combine offline and online information when the user has been given prior notice and choice, and therefore this complaint is without merit," says the company in a statement.

But it's hard to verify that bit about notice and choice, because DoubleClick refuses to name the handful of companies that have signed up so far. Those companies have also declined to identify themselves.

Double Trouble

The Center for Democracy and Technology, another watchdog group, has mounted an opt-out campaign inviting consumers to e-mail DoubleClick and 60 of its leading clients to protest Abacus Online. A CDT spokesperson says that the group forwarded 6000 e-mail messages to DoubleClick and 4400 e-mails to DoubleClick's clients in the first four days of the campaign alone.

EPIC's complaint asks the FTC to investigate DoubleClick, order the company to destroy all profiles created in Abacus Online, order DoubleClick to obtain express consumer consent before creating individual online profiles, give consumers access to the profiles created, and order DoubleClick to pay a civil penalty equaling 50 percent of the revenue it has earned through Abacus Online.

The FTC could not be reached for comment.

For more in-depth coverage of the Internet Economy, visit The Industry Standard.