DoubleClick

Paper Summary:

DoubleClick, as a top ad-server company on the Web, inserted banner ads and other promotional messages on Web sites. Those messages were aimed at the most likely customers, using text files called cookies, which allowed DoubleClick to track what people are looking at and build detailed profiles of them. The paper explains that these profiles show how Web surfers, who are identified only by their cookies, move around among sites, including what products they purchased and how long they stayed at a particular site. This paper examines the lawsuits brought against DoubleClick for violation of privacy rights and deceptive business practices. It also discusses the mandates put out by the Federal Trade Commission which regulate the use of personally identifiable information with clickstream data.

From the Paper:

"Targeting consumers by using cookies should be held to a higher standard than e-mail advertising. Cookies were originally implemented to allow the customization of information for a particular user, such as remembering your name, information you submitted previously on forms, and the contents of shopping carts. However, cookies are now being used to collect information on browsing habits, browser specifications, system information, and web-based spending and viewing habits. An invasion of privacy issue occurs because many users aren't aware of the use of their cookies and the storage and retrieval of cookie information goes unnoticed by most users."

More papers on DoubleClick:

• Analytical Essay # 113451 : "DoubleClick"
• Case Study # 45347 : "DoubleClick Case Study Analysis"
• Case Study # 71819 : "DoubleClick, Inc."

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: