my Buddhist libertarian background predisposes me to despise
governmental regulation in every instance that it is not indisputably
required for ecological viability.
meanwhile, i just saw DoubleClick's CEO being interviewed on CNN fN...
this guy is no dummy but he insulted the intelligence of everyone
watching... when asked about how his policies on privacy can be relied
upon when they change with each new aquisition, or could change if
DoubleClick was purchased, he quickly changed the subject and hyped his
5 point plan for privacy that the company hastily put into spin to
rescue them from a mass storm of criticism.
Kevin stated that according to his research, users want to be
personally targeted with ads... if that is true (i dont think most
users have a clue about cookies yet), then there should be no objection to
OPT IN for personal data sharing (with name & address etc) and not have
the end of web anonymity become a by-product of their default
personalization.
for those who do not want FTC regulations around data privacy, QUICK!
there's still time... go to the CDT site and send a message to the
DoubleClick/Abacus network member companies
<http://www.cdt.org/action/doubleclick.shtml>
AND... contact the following ad agencies and tell them to voluntarily
make it part of their contract with client companies to promise
users that they will always:
1. disclose to users specific use of cookies, and that cookie use is
optional with no loss in site functionality. (all that would be needed
is for user to type in their email address each visit)
2. keep all info volunteered by user (registrations etc) totally private
and beyond the reach of third party companies (including ad agencies),
unless and until user has been informed, and decides to OPT IN.
3. give users who OPT IN, an opportunity to regularly review and edit their
profiles
AD Agencies:
BeFree - <http://www.befree.com>
24/7 Media - <http://www.247media.com/privacy.htm>
AdForce - <http://www.adforce.com/home/cookies.html>
AdSmart - <http://www.adsmart.net>
Avenue A - <http://www.avenuea.com/info/privacy.asp>
Burst Media - <http://www.burstmedia.com/release/privacy.asp>
Engage - <http://www.engage.com/privacy/privacy.htm>
Flycast - <http://www.flycast.com>
L90 - <http://www.l90.com/external_site/privacy_policy.html>
Match Logic - <http://www.matchlogic.com>
Real Media - <http://www.realmedia.com>
Sabela Media - <http://us.www.sabela.com>
btw- it's not true as reported here that you need cookies to make
purchases at AMAZON.COM. you need only log in with your email address
and you have total functionality- including the ability to resume
shopping with your previous choices held in your basket.
the only useful site(s) so far that i have to do without because i am
cookie-free is the New York Times, which i read in hard copy, and
possibly Shockwave (i can live w/o their nifty games). generally, it is
an act of arrogance and user-unfriendliness for a company to insist the
user have cookies turned on to function within a site since there are
alternatives to cookies for every user function without clickstream
tracking and opening yourself up to ad agency spying and data sharing.
given the mood of the public and the media on the growing
personalization controversy, i think the only way federal regulation
can be avoided at this point, is if the ad industry does an about face,
and agrees to make personalization a OPT IN process. let's put the
burden of action on the privacy invader, and not the privacy protector.
--Allan
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
