AOL backed down. And then came the whopper last August. I don't think we're seeing it,'' says former FTC member Christine A. Varney, an early backer of self-regulation who's having second thoughts. But the Clinton Administration may not have the answer. When you have legislation or regulations you can't enforce, it gives false assurances to people,'' says Ira C. Magaziner, senior policy adviser to the President.
Sites amass info with and without consumers' knowledge.
Clickstream data are most commonly collected by so-called cookies, or small data files placed on cybernauts' hard drives when they first visit a site. Whenever a Netizen goes back to that Web site, the site's computer server can read the usage data from the cookies. That info is then stored in a database and can be used to target ads or content, based on the preferences tracked. Inc., for example, uses cookies to track how many new visitors come to its site. The same sort of data can also be culled from so-called ''swebstakes,'' promotional giveaway programs run by companies such as Excite Inc.'s MatchLogic, a subsidiary that posts ads and marketing campaigns for 65 clients across a host of Web sites.