Nebuad suspends ad-spy technology
p2pnet news view | Advertising:- It looks as though US privacy pirate NebuAd’s DPI system is to be deep-sixed.
The question is: will it disappear permanently? Or will it resurface disguised as a ‘harmless’ technology of some kind?
Online public pressure has forced the company to put a stop to deploying its deep packet inspection (DPI) ad-spy application, which relentlessly tracks people as they move around the Net.
The company announced founder and chief executive Bob Dykes was resigning, says the Washington Post, going on:
“His departure comes as a number of Internet companies have suspended or canceled trials of NebuAd’s controversial tracking technique, known as deep-packet inspection, marketed to companies seeking to target ads to Web users.”
In Britain, DPI company Phorm is coming under increasing pressure, and other companies which use this kind of technology, such as ISPs Bell Canada and Comcast in the US, are similarly under attack.
Now the US congress is to review, “privacy concerns associated with the technique,” set the story.
“Critics have likened deep-packet inspection to the phone company tapping a call. The technology allows a window into potentially all of a consumer’s online activity, from Web surfing and search terms to any unencrypted Web communication.”
Dykes is resigning to take a job at VeriFone, an electronic payment systems provider, “but will remain NebuAd’s chairman of the board,” the story adds.
NebuAd – Online advertising and the New Consumer, September 2, 2008
Washington Post – NebuAd Halts Plans For Web Tracking, September 4, 2008
DPI company Phorm – DPI firm Phorm had secret US op: report, August 14, 2008
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