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responsible bannering
``` [It would be an easy matter to construct a list of all Web sites that profit from Doubleclick's ad banners. Having constructed that list, one could then generate a polite letter to each webmaster explaining the spiritual and pecuniary downsides of doing business with a firm whose practices regarding privacy and other matters have so frequently been called into question. Unfortunately, doing so would clearly be spam. Another approach would be to write some code that generates such a letter automatically whenever your browser happens to download a page that includes a Doubleclick link. Such code might well be popular.]
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Date: Thu, 21 May 98 22:33 PDT From: privacy@vortex.com (PRIVACY Forum)
PRIVACY Forum Digest Thursday, 21 May 1998 Volume 07 : Issue 10
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Date: Thu, 21 May 98 13:31 PDT From: lauren@vortex.com (Lauren Weinstein; PRIVACY Forum Moderator) Subject: Sex, Crime, and Banner Ads
Greetings. As the World Wide Web has exploded onto the world in all directions, the rise of the "banner ad" has been impossible to ignore. These are the typically rectangular advertisements that pop up in various locations on many web pages, with the goal of convincing the viewer to "click-through" to the ads' sponsoring web pages. Some of these ads are direct and to the point. Others are purposely vague, trying to depend on curiosity to drive the user's mouse clicks.
A variety of different business models exist for banner ads, some more successful than others. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with the banner ad concept; such ads can be useful and benign revenue producing tools when presented responsibly. But what happens when the subject of the ad is sexually oriented, or promoting a service that is illegal or highly risky for the viewer to use?
Such appears to be the case with some of the ads presented by DoubleClick Inc. of New York City, one of the net's largest banner ad firms. Their ads are displayed at a very broad array of sites, including some of the net's most widely used and highly respected search engines. Some of DoubleClick's ads appear on a seemingly random basis, while others are tied to user keyword information passed to them from the search engines themselves.
In my discussions with a spokesman for one of the larger web sites using DoubleClick, Digital Equipment Corporation's "AltaVista" search site, it appeared that he had no idea what sorts of ads might be presented to AltaVista users via DoubleClick, and he didn't seem particularly concerned about the issue.
When search engines use DoubleClick, it is possible for sexually oriented ads to be returned in response to completely "innocent" search keywords, simply because those words could potentially be used in a sexual context. In at least one case reported to me (and easily verified) a search for religious material returned such ads routinely, due apparently to this sort of "double-meaning" assumption. In an era where there are those pushing for rather draconian Internet censorship, it seems unwise in the extreme to be supplying such ads where they can be so easily seen by children or others who might be offended by such materials. Why play into the hands of the censors?
Even worse is the promotion of activities that might get the user arrested! A heavy component of DoubleClick's ad inventory appears to be for various "online casinos." Most of these seem to be offshore, many on the same islands which have harbored various phone scams in the past. Some states and the federal government have been taking action against U.S. parties who have become involved with many of these online gambling operations, via an existing 1961 law against "gambling by phone." And legislation has been introduced in Congress that would make the prohibition against most such online gambling even more explicit. Legal issues aside, it's foolhardy in the extreme to provide credit card, checking account, or other payment information to these shadowy offshore gambling entities, who are not regulated by any U.S. laws. Talk about a privacy risk!
No doubt there are all sorts of rationalizations which ad brokers might bring forth. One can appreciate, for example, that they aren't presenting ads only for one country with one set of laws, and that controlling ads on a per-country basis would be extremely difficult for any of the non-geographic domains. What's illegal in one country may be legal in another. Some people object to sexually oriented ads, other folks apparently enjoy them. And so on. But would these really be valid excuses for dragging unsuspecting web users into the gutter with such ads? I don't think so.
Ultimately, it all seems to boil down to responsibility vs. exploitation. The future of the net will be decided to a large degree by the manner in which the various players show respect and consideration of the very public universe in which they are now operating. A "take it to the limit" attitude simply invites the outside imposition of measures which many would consider to be unnecessary at best, or severely stifling of free speech at worst. If the Internet is to reach its full potential free of such detours, the time to start acting responsibly is now.
By the way, I of course wanted to hear DoubleClick's side of the story. After a number of attempts, I reached by phone a representative of DoubleClick. She informed me that they didn't wish to discuss these issues.
--Lauren-- Lauren Weinstein Moderator, PRIVACY Forum http://www.vortex.com
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Date: Thu, 21 May 98 13:29 PDT From: lauren@vortex.com (Lauren Weinstein; PRIVACY Forum Moderator) Subject: Opt-Out from American Express Marketing
Greetings. Following up on the discussion of American Express marketing plans reported in the previous PRIVACY Forum Digest (V07 #09), I wanted to let the readership know that American Express has published information indicating that their customers can choose to use a toll-free number to "opt-out" from such plans, rather than needing to write in.
That number is 1-800-297-8378.
--Lauren-- Lauren Weinstein Moderator, PRIVACY Forum http://www.vortex.com
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End of PRIVACY Forum Digest 07.10
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