Sponsored Content WEBINAR: ELECTION 2008: E-mail Tips from a Political Insider   WEBINAR: Becoming the Illusionist: The Magic of Using "Brand" to Drive Response without Results Disappearing in the Process   WEBINAR: Score and Win Through Cooperation   TOOLS OF THE TRADE: Holiday's are prime-time for email marketing - maximize your ROI by getting to the inbox   ON DEMAND WEBINAR--MASTER CLASS: High Performance Online and Off-line Strategies for Large Scale Customer Acquisition   FREE WHITE PAPER - Direct Mail and the Internet Find any supplier you need - agencies, CRM, fulfillment, lists, e-commerce, paper, printers, telemarketing, and more. Featured Categories Lists and Data Telemarketing Database Marketing E-commerce Web Marketing Agency & Creative Services Print, Production & Paper Lists and Data Processing :: view all categories Get free access to more than 50,000 list data cards - one of the most comprehensive databases in the industry. >> Search Now DIRECT Buzz Blog Webinars Buyer's Guide Calculators JobZone ListFinder Promo Calendar Research Store E-Newsletters Print Magazine This Month in Direct Magazine Deal With It Direct had a full house for this year's list roundtable. Considering all the additional responsibilities on brokers' plates, that's impressive... See Full July Issue

In a settlement reached with 10 states, DoubleClick Inc. will pay $450,000 and alter its privacy policies after an investigation into the online advertising firm's use of consumer's personal data.

New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, one of the states involved in the investigation, said in a statement that the agreement sets "a new standard for consumers' online privacy."

Under terms of the agreement, DoubleClick must increase disclosure of its tracking of Web users online activities, move offline data obtained in connection with its DART ad serving that is three months old, and offer Web users a better look at their own marketing profiles.

It has also agreed to provide users with the ability to opt-in to an e-mail notification system that will alert the user to any changes within DoubleClick's privacy statement. And it will not share user data collected on behalf of one of its clients with any person other than that client or as directed by that client, DoubleClick said in a statement.

DoubleClick said the agreement does not constitute an admission of any wrongdoing.

DoubleClick must also retain an independent firm to review compliance of the terms of the settlement. And it is working on developing a "cookie viewer", a tool allowing consumers to see the profiled interest categories DoubleClick uses in selecting ads for that consumer.

The 30-month investigation began after DoubleClick purchased Abacus Direct in 1999 and announced that it would combine both online and offline consumer data. It backed down on the plan in the face of public pressure.

"It's hard for consumers to trust e-commerce when they can't see the practices behind the promises," Spitzer said.

Other states involved in the settlement are Arizona, California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, Vermont and Washington.