At least six new lawsuits are challenging online cookies that track
Internet users’ browsing habits, claiming the modern tracking tools defy
or inhibit deletion.
At issue is technology from
Quantcast,
also targeted in the lawsuit. Quantcast created Flash cookies that
track users across the web, and used them to re-create traditional
browser cookies that users deleted from their computers. These “zombie”
cookies came to light last year, after researchers at UC Berkeley
documented deleted browser cookies returning to life. Quantcast quickly fixed the issue, calling it an unintended consequence of trying to measure web traffic accurately
.
Flash
cookies are used by many of the net’s top websites for a variety of
purposes, from setting default volume levels on video players to
assigning a unique ID to users that tracks them no matter what browser
they use. Unlike
traditional browser cookies, Flash cookies are relatively unknown to
web users, and they are not controlled through the cookie privacy
controls in a browser. That means even if a user thinks they have
cleared their computer of tracking objects, they most likely have not.
One suit names CNN and the Travel Channel, claiming the companies
track Internet surfing over mobile phones using unique ID numbers that
can be “re-spawned” after deletion. Another suit against
Fox Entertainment Group and Americanidol.com says the companies use
“flash cookies” that can re-spawn deleted tracking files.
Although the legality of this practice is questionable at best, and a decision from the Court presumably several months away, the heightened awareness of this technology should prompt website owners to rethink the use of flash cookies.