From: http://www.cosmiverse.com/paranormal062901.html Collecting your data in secret June 29, 2000 07:34 CDT Four class action lawsuits now winding their way through the courts are alleging that four major online companies are secretly collecting personal information from web-surfers. The Law News Network says the lawsuits against DoubleClick, Inc., Amazon.com Inc., RealNetworks Inc and Buy.com Inc. are the first of their kind and "are an enter into the dynamic, and potentially lucrative, debate over consumer privacy on the Internet." The suits claim that the companies are secretly collecting personal data and user profiles of Internet users, such as their e-mail and home addresses, phone numbers. "However, the companies contend that visitors to their sites remain anonymous. And they are adamant that litigation is an inappropriate way to revise online privacy policies," says Law.com. The first privacy class actions were filed late last year in both federal and state courts. In most instances, companies face more than one class action. For example, 15 suits have been filed against online advertiser DoubleClick. The federal cases have been consolidated into a class action currently pending in the federal court for the Southern District of New York. Law firms representing the plaintiffs claim that DoubleClick uses cookies, electronic files with unique identification numbers, to secretly track users' activities on the Internet and collect their personal information. "When an individual visits a Web site that displays a DoubleClick ad, a cookie is implanted on the user's computer system," said Law.com. DoubleClick attorney Lori Schechter denies that the company is acting illegally. "There is no personally identifiable information available from placement of a cookie," she said. Rather, cookies are used to enable DoubleClick to determine how many unique anonymous visitors see a given ad. (This kind of data forms the basis for validating frequency statistics demanded by companies and ad agencies in negotiations for advertising rates on websites). Attorney Alan Mansfield called the DoubleClick's explanation "semantics," said the law report; "although DoubleClick doesn't obtain personal information every time someone visits a Web site with its banner ad, specific information is obtained over time that enables DoubleClick to compose a Web surfer's profile." The debate over Internet privacy isn't just in the courts. Several bills regulating what personal data Internet websites can collect and how they can use it are pending in Congress; the FTC has an ongoing investigation into abuses; and the industry, itself, has proposed standards where none exist now. And DoubleClick isn't the only target. Internet consultant Richard smith, of Massachusetts recently found that visitors to Red Herring's Web site typed in their e-mail addresses in order to subscribe to a Red Herring newsletter. The e-mail address was then automatically sent to DoubleClick. The issue, he said, is that the company doesn't inform consumers what it saves and what it throws away, according to the law report. The lawsuit against Amazon.com Inc. and its affiliate Alexa Internet alleges that Alexa's software interfaces with a user's Internet browser to obtain information about the Web sites the individual visits. In the other class actions, RealNetworks is alleged to collect personal data via software that enables computers to play audio and video files, and Buy.com is accused of using information it collects in its superstore and transmitting it to advertising companies. And as new ways to reach markets on the Internet are devised, remedies for violations of individual rights to privacy also are beginning to proliferate. The most closely watched bill in Congress, for example (the Consumer Privacy Protection Act, S.2606) would require commercial Web sites to notify consumers what information is collected about them and how it is used; permit consumers to choose whether this data can be used; give consumers access to the data; and make sure the information is secure. As an alternative to legislative or regulatory mandates, the industry's World Wide Web Consortium, or W3C, is developing what it calls a new Platform for Privacy Preferences Protocol, or P3P. If adopted and integrated into Internet applications, it would enable Internet users to select the type of privacy policy they wish to use. A web server would automatically communicate how it collects and shares data and a user's browser would only go to sites that meet the user's privacy specifications. Other groups also are getting into the fray, such as the Junkbusters Corp. and Electronic Privacy Information Center, which are privacy regulation proponents, and the Online Privacy Alliance and Information Technology Association of America, which are advocating self-regulation in the industry. And what of government practices? As the Federal Trade Commission is pushing for consumer protection from unauthorized data collection on commercial websites, the government is seeking greater "key" access to websites. Factions within the government seek to require that any encryption used to protect websites from hacking and other breaches be accessible to the government for national security or related investigations into drug trafficking, organized crime or other serious crimes. Staff Writer Ariel K. 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