FTC Investigates Privacy Practices of Top Internet Sites
Amazon and Yahoo revealed in financial filings yesterday that each company is a target of Federal Trade Commission inquiries into how online companies protect consumer privacy.
The Amazon inquiry relates to the company's Alexa software division, which tracks browser activity on the user's computer. The data is relayed to Amazon, where it is used in part to suggest related sites the user might find interesting. The FTC wants to determine if Alexa and Amazon are engaging in "unfair or deceptive acts" by using the browser data for other purposes. It should be noted that the free browser offered by AOL's Netscape division also contacts similar software called "smart browsing" that tracks user activity unless it is turned off deep in the preferences menu.
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