Last week, Internet marketing technology company Avenue A Inc., denied that it illegally tracked consumers on the Web by using cookie technology. Charges against Avenue A were filed in a class-action lawsuit earlier this month in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. The consumer plaintiffs charge Avenue A with violating the federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986, which prohibits the use of wiretaps. In addition, the vendor was charged with breaching the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which makes it a felony to access federal or financial computers. Avenue A CEO Brian McAndrews said in a statement that the lawsuit is without merit and presents the wrong idea about how his company and the Web in general operate.
Legal experts say privacy law is insufficient as it relates to the Internet.
Plaintiffs want the courts to decide if communications laws apply to the Internet, says Philip Gordon, an attorney at Horowitz and Wake in Denver, and a fellow at the Privacy Foundation, a research organization. In the most notable case of this kind, DoubleClick was sued in January. Since then, the industry has developed self-regulatory standards through the National Advertising Initiative. The plaintiffs will have several hurdles to jump.