lexipixel - 4:09 am on Oct 24, 2007 (gmt 0)

re: the Google/DoubleClick deal... It's not just the EU that is concerned...

Sept 2007 - "..Google Chief Legal Officer David Drummond said the purchase will spur competition and protect consumers' privacy" [bloomberg.com...]

I guess by "protecting", (consumers' privacy), he meant protecting it from anyone but Google getting all the ad tracking data (and profit).

2002 Privacy groups debate DoubleClick settlement [archives.cnn.com...]

The means were even more devious -- with DoubleClick settling and agreeing to not combine tracking data from multiple clients, (e.g.- if "BigDude1" surfs to site bigshoes.tld and buys a pair of size 13, then anonymously visits a dating site which display DoubleClick ads, he should not get solicited to purchase something from the GalsWhoLikesEmBig.zzz).

Do you think Google / Adwords doesn't know where you been and where you might go next -- if prompted by an ad?

DoubleClick tried to go even further:

1999 - "...The states' investigation came about after DoubleClick's acquisition of Abacus Direct in 1999, and the firm's announced plans to link its new offline, personally identifiable consumer profiles to online tracking data. In the wake of the announcement, consumers filed lawsuits..." - [atnewyork.com...]

Ok, so having one of the oldest cookie baking, pixel planting, user profiling, ad serving giants, one who already lost civil class action suits for privacy related charges --- having them hitched up to Google's wagon is a good thing?