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Web tracker NebuAd sued over privacy claims. |
Fatal Rocko Willis Fleet Admiral Fatal Squadron
Joined: March 01, 2003 Posts: 1336 From: Kentucky
| Posted: 2008-11-14 11:26  
Angry online subscribers who had their Web surfing habits tracked in detail are suing a Silicon Valley startup that created the technology and six Internet service providers that briefly used it.
The 15 customers who filed the lawsuit in federal court here Monday demand more than $5 million in damages and are asking a judge to turn the case into a class action representing tens of thousands of Internet subscribers.
The lawsuit targets Redwood City, Calif.-based NebuAd Inc., which developed a way for Internet service providers to scan the content of their customers' Web traffic. The idea was that the ISPs could use the technology to deliver advertisements specifically targeted to individual subscribers' interests.
"Like a vacuum cleaner, everything passing through the pipe of the consumers' Internet connection was sucked up, copied and forwarded," stated the lawsuit, which accuses NebuAd and the ISPs of breaking federal and state privacy laws.
Several U.S. ISPs tried the technology before withdrawing as privacy advocates and members of Congress raised concerns over the summer.
The six ISPs named in the lawsuit each told Congress over the summer that it had dropped NebuAd's technology after only a few months. The ISPs are: Bresnan Communications LLC, Cable One Inc., CenturyTel Inc., Embarq Corp., WideOpenWest and Knology Inc.
"We are reviewing the complaint, which we intend to defend against vigorously," said NebuAd spokeswoman Janet McGraw, who declined further comment.
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HMSBlueprint
Joined: October 28, 2006 Posts: 119
| Posted: 2008-11-15 02:33  
Nice to know were safe...
no seriously,
I hope they shutdown, who in their right mind would develop a tracker like that?
_________________ *w00tness teh panduh love HMS Blueprint {Anti-Doran} long time.
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Eledore Massis [R33] Grand Admiral Templar Knights
Joined: May 26, 2002 Posts: 2694 From: tsohlacoLocalhost
| Posted: 2008-11-15 04:39  
Quote:
| Embarq Corp., WideOpenWest and Knology Inc. |
| Who in there sain minds would have names like that.
Lucky that we don't have stuff like that happening here in europe.... (knock on wood)
_________________ DS Discordion
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