DoubleClick Takes Initiative on Privacy DoubleClick Takes Initiative on Privacy Paul Jones
Leading advertising firm DoubleClick, recently under increasing pressure from privacy advocates, on Monday tried to turn things around in the controversy, unveiling a major initiative involving a 50 million banner ad campaign and a Web site to educate consumers on privacy.
"The future of the Internet relies on consumers feeling comfortable," says Kevin Ryan, president of DoubleClick (DCLK), speaking at a news conference.
Still, privacy advocates were dissatisfied by the initiative, saying it didn't go far enough to address the issues. DoubleClick has been hit with four lawsuits in the past month, and has been the target of a complaint to the Federal Trade Commission and an e-mail campaign organized by privacy advocates.
As part of what DoubleClick is calling its Internet Privacy Education Campaign, the company is running 50 million banner advertisements, which it estimates will reach between 30 and 50 million individuals over the next couple of months. The banners will link users to PrivacyChoices, a DoubleClick-sponsored Web site that contains information about the company's privacy policy and gives consumers an opportunity to opt out of DoubleClick's database.
