FTC Settles With Epic Marketplace to End ‘History Sniffing’ to Gauge Medical, Financial Interests

Epic Marketplace Inc., an online advertising network, has settled with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on charges that the company used “history sniffing” to surreptitiously and illegally gather data from millions of consumers about their interests in medical and financial issues. The history-sniffing technology enables online operators to “sniff” a Web browser to see what sites the user has visited in the past. As part of the settlement, Epic Marketplace is barred from using the technology and misrepresenting itself. The settlement also requires the company to destroy all the information it amassed through this unlawful tactic. “Consumers searching the Internet shouldn’t have to worry about whether someone is going to go sniffing through the sensitive, personal details of their browsing history without their knowledge,” said FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz. “This type of unscrupulous behavior undermines consumers’ confidence, and we won’t tolerate it.”

Epic Marketplace has a network that includes 45,000 websites. Consumers who visited any of those sites downloaded a cookie on their browser, which stored information allowing the company to deliver ads catered to their interests. This in and of itself isn’t a crime