NebuAd Fallout Clearing

In the US, legal proceedings arising from the behavioral targeting trials of NebuAd in 2008 seem finally to be rumbling towards a conclusion. Claims against several of the six ISPs accused with the now defunct ad targeting company have recently been dismissed and/or downgraded.

After trials in 2007 and 2008, NebuAd itself was sued in late 2008 and paid $2.4m to settle despite assurances that its system was anonymous and provided adequate opt-outs. The firm then ceased trading the following May, but the six ISPs who had partnered with it were also the subject of legal challenges from consumers.

Last week, a judge decided that ISP (Internet Service Provider) Wide Open West had not itself intercepted consumers' communications, simply by partnering with NebuAd - it may have 'facilitated' NebuAd's doing so, but at this moment it is unclear whether this will be sufficient for the claims to proceed.

This follows a recent decision by the Tenth Circuit that ISP Embarq did not 'intercept' electronic communications as defined by the relevant Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) because it did not collect or use the data collected by NebuAd and had access to it only 'in its capacity as an ISP.' Of the other 4 ISPs, a suit against CenturyTel was dismissed in 2011, while claims against Knology were sent to arbitration, leaving just Cable One and Bresnan.

Trials of the ad targeting technology of Phorm, by British carrier BT in 2008 also met with concern and legal challenges, although Phorm has since taken its software elsewhere and seems at last to have the opportunity to run full-scale operations in Turkey, where it has an apparently burgeoning partnership with major ISP TTNET.

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.