Copyright 1999 Times Mirror Company
Los Angeles
Times
November 8, 1999, Monday, Home Edition
SECTION: Business; Part C; Page 1; Financial Desk
LENGTH: 569 words
HEADLINE:
'PROFILING' BECOMES FOCAL POINT OF WEB PRIVACY DEBATE;
INTERNET: DATA
COLLECTED COULD GIVE MARKETERS A DETAILED PICTURE OF CONSUMERS' ONLINE
ACTIVITIES. ISSUE IS EXAMINED IN WORKSHOP TODAY.
BYLINE: GREG MILLER, TIMES STAFF WRITER
BODY:
Responding to privacy concerns about
technology that enables Internet advertisers to track consumers' Web surfing and
shopping habits, the government is scheduled to hold a workshop today on a
data-gathering practice known as "profiling."
The practice has emerged
as one of the most important privacy battlegrounds on the Internet, with
industry leaders and privacy advocates sparring about whether the government
should place strict restrictions on advertising companies that use profiling
technology.
But the spreading use of profiling techniques has escaped
the notice of most Web surfers, largely because it is done by companies, such as
DoubleClick Corp. and MatchLogic Inc., that operate behind the scenes in
cyberspace. Such companies don't operate mainstream Web sites of their own.
Rather, they place ads for thousands of clients on hundreds of Web sites,
including Yahoo and other popular online destinations.
Because they
place ads on so many sites, these companies are in unique position to track
consumers' travels through cyberspace, recording when and where consumers see
certain ads, as well as how they respond.
For the most part, such data
have been gathered anonymously. But there is growing concern that these
"clickstream" profiles of Web users can be meshed with other databases that
reveal consumers' names and other personal information.
Privacy advocates have been particularly concerned, for
instance, about DoubleClick's pending merger with catalog tracking company
Abacus Direct Corp., which has names and addresses of countless consumers.
Government officials said they scheduled today's workshop in Washington
because they are troubled by the surreptitious nature of such data collection,
and the potential it has to give marketers a detailed picture of consumers'
online activities and preferences.
In an effort to head off government
intervention, leading Internet advertising companies last week unveiled a plan
that would give consumers greater control over whether they are subjected to
such data collecting.
As part of that agreement, DoubleClick, MatchLogic
and eight other Internet advertising companies pledged to give consumers the
ability to "opt out" of profiling databases.
They also agreed to create
a Web site where consumers will be able to get more information about how much
data are collected from them and how they are used
(http://www.networkadvertising.org).
The proposal is modeled on the
Online Privacy Alliance, a similar arrangement made last year by leading
Internet companies, including Microsoft Corp. and America Online Inc.
But privacy advocates called the proposal from the Internet advertising
group inadequate, and are expected to push government officials to place a
moratorium on profiling until legal protections for consumers can be
established.
Privacy advocates said such companies should be required to
get consumers' permission before they can gather and compile data, not merely
offer Internet users the ability to "opt out."
Further, privacy
advocates said the agreement allows for little recourse by consumers when there
are violations. "Self-regulation has been a shameful failure," said Jason
Catlett, president of the advocacy group Junkbusters.
More information
on the workshop is available at http://www.ftc.gov.
*
Times staff writer Greg Miller can be reached at
greg.miller@latimes.com.
LOAD-DATE: November 8, 1999
