The Legality and Ethics of Internet Advertising
ABSTRACT: Recently, DoubleClick.com, one of the world’s premier Internet advertising firms was at the center of a Federal Trade Commission investigation on privacy. Consumer privacy advocates have charged the company with infringing on the privacy of websurfers because of the aggressive means it uses to gather data for profit. This paper discusses the legal and moral issues surrounding these tactics. Were the company’s aggressive tactics legally permissible? Were they ethical? Companies such as DoubleClick need to inform the websurfer that he/she is being monitored.
The world of the Internet uses advertising as its central driving force. Internet start-up companies have spent millions upon millions of dollars on advertising, making Internet advertising a very lucrative business. In fact, right now the advertising market is estimated to be worth about $6.6 billion and is expected to be worth $27 billion by 2004.1 One of the leaders in the business, DoubleClick.com, has a significant market share of the industry with over 1,500 client sites. The aggressive means by which DoubleClick operates has made it the advertiser of choice by many Internet companies.
The power of DoubleClick is in its usage of Internet "cookies" to gather information on web surfers. Every time you visit a website that is powered by DoubleClick, an Internet cookie is placed on to your web browser. The cookie helps DoubleClick track what your Internet habits are and which websites you visit most often. This information is then kept in a database that is later used by DoubleClick to target consumers with ads based on the information that it has on different user types. It is estim...
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1 Frook, John E. “Tactics vary in race for ad network dominance.” BtoB. October 23, 2000 Vol. 85: 1.
2 Magill, Ken. “DoubleClick: Profiling Not Dead,” iMarketing News Vol.2 No.9 (2000):1.
3 IBID.
4 IBID.
5 “What Goes Up…(The DoubleClick Story).” Privacy Times. February 3,2000 <http://www.privacytimes.com/NewWebstories/doubleclick_priv_2_23.htm>
6 “FTC Closes Investigation of DoubleClick’s Privacy Practices.” January 22, 2001 http://www.doubleclick.net:80/us/corporate/presskit/press-releases.asp?asp_object_1=& press%5Frelease%5Fid=2489
7 Anstead, Mark. “Internet:Taking a tough line on privacy- New legislation threatens internet data collection.” Marketing. April 13, 2000.
8 IBID.
9 Hawkins, Dana; Mannix, Margaret. Personal Tech.” U.S. News & World Report. Vol. 129 No.13.
10 IBID.
If big business’s past is any indication of its future, it proves that businesses cannot be trusted to act ethically towards the masses. There must be laws in place that protect the consumer and outline the extent an advertiser can reach before divulging into privacy violations. An opt-out or do not track option before behavioral advertisement occurs will sufficiently address the ethical and privacy concerns posed by behavioral advertisement. The line must be drawn in order to empower consumers with free will and to restrict the severity of big business surveillance.
“Human beings are not meant to lose their anonymity and privacy,” Sarah Chalke. When using the web, web users’ information tend to be easily accessible to government officials or hackers. In Nicholas Carr’s “Tracking Is an Assault on Liberty,” Jim Harpers’ “Web Users Get As Much As They Give,” and Lori Andrews “Facebook is Using You” the topic of internet tracking stirred up many mixed views; however, some form of compromise can be reached on this issue, laws that enforces companies to inform the public on what personal information is being taken, creating advisements on social media about how web users can be more cautious to what kind of information they give out online, enabling your privacy settings and programs, eliminating weblining,
Dagar, Anil. “Internet, Economy and Privacy.” Fung Institute for Engineering Leadership. 16 April 2013. Web.
To begin with, various websites are violating our privacy by selling our data to third party companies. Today accumulation of personal information is escalating using technology tools all over the world without permission of an individual. Precisely, social networking sites such as Facebook collects information actively while websites such as Google passively. Facebook allows strangers to view anyone’s profile and systematically eliminates privacy for those who choos...
... God’s creation in her eyes. Equally, by embodying reason, Eve is able to gain the benefits of knowledge through experience, thus bringing her closer to Adam and God. Finally, in my examination of the Paradise Lost, I could not perceive Milton’s patriarchal or misogynist sentiment, as do many of his readers. Eve’s virtues are not inferior to Adam’s, and Adam has to learn some of her virtues, as she has to learn his. In this way, Milton does not stratify the value between male and female; they are simply human. Although the question of gender hierarchy may never be aptly answered, Milton in Paradise Lost states his controversial estimation of the ideal gender relationship – equality.
The encounter of early explorers with the people of the Americas would ultimately set in motion the destruction of long existing Native American life and culture. Engrained into the minds of the Europeans were prejudiced images and stereotypes of the Native Americans, which we struggle still today to eradica...
Originating in Germany, the Brothers Grimm, also known as Jacob and Wilhelm, took an interest in folktales. This interest truly sparked when a man at school told them of a library filled with old books. From both books and folktales that were often told to them by women, the brothers began collecting their own group of stories. After graduating from the University of Marburg, the brothers moved to Gottingen, where they held positions as librarians and professors (Grimm). They eventually began working on their own tales, which were originally not aimed toward children. The brothers “viewed themselves as patriotic folklorists, not as entertainers of children.” Jacob and Wilhelm intended to “save the endangered oral tradition of Germany” with their works (O’Neill).
...onomy. Day care can be a positive option for parents seeking help with child care. It is self-assuring for many parents that are struggling to raise a family while balancing job security, to know that there are a variety of options out there for the watching of children. As with any difficult task, the monitoring of child safety concerns should stay primarily as a parent’s number one responsibility and concern. Today there is government help and assistance by providing mandatory safety and ethics requirements that are enforced through safety-regulatory agencies and through inspections for compliance for the purpose of licensing approval. It is a welcome thought for parents to know that they may be doing their children a favor in using a day care, by helping their young ones become better prepared for kindergarten and giving them an opportunity to learn new skills.
This notion of the suitability of God’s punishments figures significantly in the structure of Dante’s Hell. To readers, as well as Dante himself (the character), the torments Dante and Virgil behold seem surprisingly harsh, possibly harsher than is fair, Dante exclaims this with surprise. He doesn’t actually wonder who decided on these tortures. He knows it was god. What he is questioning is how these punishments are just, since they don’t appear to be just from a human’s point of view which views each punishment together with its conjugate sin only superficially. For example, homosexuals must endure an eternity of walking on hot sand, and those who charge interest on loans sit beneath a rain of fire. At first glance, each one seems too terrible for any sin. However, when the poem is viewed as a whole, it becomes clear that the guiding principle of these punishments is one of balance. Sinners suffer punishment to the degree befitting the gravity of their sin, in a manner matching that sin’s nature. The structures of the poem and of hell serve to reinforce this correspondence.
Solove, Daniel J. “5 Myths about Privacy” Washington Post: B3. Jun 16 2013. SIRS. Web. 10
LeRoux, Yves. "Privacy concerns in the digital world." 03 Oct 2013. Computer Weekly. 24 April 2014 .
Among the followers of Christianity, questions arise in order to find the righteous path to Heaven’s gate. On the contrary, there are those who seek answers for what is forsaken. Dante Alighieri fully expresses himself on this dilemma in his written work, The Divine Comedy. The first part of the epic poem is Inferno; Dante defines and constructs Hell, based on the morals and judgments set by common beliefs during his time. Dante also uses Aristotle’s philosophical work to shape the structure of Hell. Undergoing a journey through Hell as himself, Dante places famous literary icons to assist in questioning the acts of justice. Dante builds and contrast between the sinners who are innocent, and those who deliberately perform evil deeds. Virgil, a fellow poet and pagan, exemplifies wisdom and clarity that which Dante must learn through his endeavor. Virgil’s guidance will provide contrast and the necessary guidance to reach Paradise. The change of character Dante experience, is dreadful; pity and remorse must be exempted to honor retribution for the sinners’ defiance against God. All the answers regarding Hell, lies upon meeting the primal sinner, Lucifer, the Fallen Angel. Dante’s journey unfolds a critical analysis in which portrays the human struggle in every individual. There are several implications of the four functions of myth that can be derived from Dante’s Inferno. Dante divides Hell into three dispositions: incontinence, malice and brutality. (Alighieri, Dante, and Longfellow 6.79-82)
The Inferno written by Dante Alighieri is an epic about his journey through Hell. In Dante’s representation of Hell contains nine circles containing different sins each with a more severe punishment than the last. In these increasingly terrifying scenarios, he encounters many ironic punishments and often has discussions with a person amidst the torment. Dante is accompanied by a guide (Virgil) who acts as the mentor. The two travel through hell in hopes of reaching Heaven. While Dante walks as a bystander in the terrors of hell, he begins to commit sins himself, although towards the sinners which he encounters he still is admitted into heaven. While Dante occasionally sins throughout his journey, he usually meets the sinners with compassion and pity, but Virgil meets them with the opposite and views them in disgust. While they may treat them any way they want, the one which causes them the most torment is God, which Dante himself views cruel at times.These incongruities and travesties, bring the morality of the Catholic system of condemnation into question.
In the Inferno, Dante gives his audience the clear view as to what he believes as a Christian follower, that hell has to offer. He shows that worldly sin every single sin has a fair punishment. An example in Dante would be when Cocytus was frozen because he committed the cold crime of fraud. The deeper that Virgil and Dante go into hell, the greater volume of sin is committed. In each level of hell, the criminals are punished equally depending on what their crime was. Dante learns that God's punishment is just and that his power is divine. He sets forth one of the most fully developed Christian understanding of justice on this earth. He describes this justice as what we do as human beings will determine what happens to us when it is our time to go based on Gods judgment. An example of this divine power would be when the Furies will not let Dante and Virgil get past the Gate of Dis.
Carroll brings these characters to life and makes them seem believable to Alice and the readers. With the help of the characters, there are many different lessons and metaphors that children can relate to. For example, Carrol shows how a child views the adult world, including the rules and social etiquette as well as the terrible habits developed over the course of life. This book represents the child’s struggle to flourish in the crazy world of adults. A young reader will notice that Alice has a hard time finding solutions to different situations in Wonderland. For example, she has a hard time solving the Mad Hatter’s riddle and understand the caucus race as well as the Queen’s croquet game. Alice eventually learns that there are times when she cannot find meaning or logic in situations and this shows the reader that sometimes life gets frustrating and situations are not always solvable. In order for Alice to thrive she must figure out who she is as a person and where she fits into