User profiles are standard practice

Building up a user profile of what consumers search for and where they go when they are online has become a standard practice for many businesses, one expert has claimed.

Pam Dixon, executive director at the World Privacy Forum, said that for the commercial sector, there are no specific limits on the practice of user profiling, unless the companies have written them into their own privacy policies.

"This sort of activity is not only common, it has become part and parcel of e-commerce and now even traditional business models," she added.

Earlier this month, the Internet Advertising Bureau launched the Good Practice Principles, the UK's first self-regulatory guidelines to set good practice for companies that collect and use data for online behavioural advertising purposes.

The principles included in the guidelines constitute a common industry initiative which is dedicated to increasing consumer awareness and choice about the kind of advertising consumers receive.

Contact home james for expert Pay Per Click services.