Michigan AG Plans Lawsuit Against DoubleClick
The Michigan Attorney General’s office yesterday filed a precursor to a lawsuit against online advertising firm DoubleClick, already under fire for the data it collects on Internet users.
Attorney General Jennifer Granholm said in the notice of intended action that DoubleClick violated the Michigan Consumer Protection Act and other laws by failing to disclose to Internet users that DoubleClick is systematically implanting electronic “cookies” or electronic surveillance files on the hard drives of users’ computers without their knowledge or consent.
“DoubleClick is continually adding detailed personal information about you to its data banks,” Granholm said in a statement. “The average consumer has no idea that their online movements are being spied upon; this amounts to little more than a secret, cyber wiretap.”
The state has 10 days to settle its differences with DoubleClick before it can file a lawsuit.
DoubleClick defended its policies. “DoubleClick has never and will never use “sensitive” online data in our profiles,” Kevin Ryan, president of DoubleClick, said in a statement. The company said sensitive data includes information related to health, finance, children or sexually explicit data.
As part of a media campaign the company unveiled Monday to educate consumers, it said it would allow Internet users to block its “cookies.” The company said it has already offered Web surfers an opportunity to avoid being tracked by opting out on its Web site.
DoubleClick has come under increasing attack since the company announced plans last month to track Internet users’ movements on the Web and combine that data with people’s names and addresses.
Last week, the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection initiated a routine inquiry to determine if DoubleClick has engaged in unfair or deceptive practices relating to personal privacy. DoubleClick also faces a California lawsuit and the New York Attorney General’s office is conducting an informal inquiry into the company. In the wake of the Michigan lawsuit, the company’s shares fell 11% yesterday.
Adding to the privacy concerns, in November, DoubleClick purchased Abacus Direct Corp, and its large database of offline customer information and is reportedly in negotiations to buy SmartBase a catalog cooperative database wholly owned by Little Rock, AR-based Acxiom Corp. Privacy advocates fear DoubleClick will combine its captured Web data with people’s names and addresses from the offline databases.
