June 19th, 2008
Ad targeting technology violate privacy, groups say
NebuAd’s “consumer-centric behavioral targeting network” is nothing less than malware, Public Knowledge and FreePress charge in a new report (PDF).
The ad insertion technology violates “several fundamental expectations of Internet privacy, security and standards-based interoperability,” the report says.
Stacey Higginbotham reports at GigaOm that users can’t truly opt out of the system.
The investigation shows that even if a consumer opts out, they can only opt out of seeing an ad, not out of having their Internet usage tracked. Furthermore, the decision is tracked by a cookie installed in the browser software, which many users delete and is rendered ineffective if the user changes computers or browsers anyway.
Nebuad’s response: “NebuAd requires its ISP partners to provide robust notice to their subscribers prior to deployment of the service.”
