Diversions October 13, 2011

Where Everybody Knows Your Name

A Stanford University study reveals that 45% of the top 185 U.S. Web sites transmit identifying details about their visitors to at least four other sites. 
Reported by

The data transmitted was primarily a username or a user ID, and was most commonly sent to Google, Facebook, comScore, and Quantcast.   

The study, “Tracking the Trackers: Where Everybody Knows Your Username,” said it is not clear how many companies that receive the data are actually using it or for what purpose. But researcher Jonathan Mayer, a Ph.D. student at Stanford University’s computer security lab, said that the study proved that online tracking is not anonymous.

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“The web is suffused with identity,” said Mayer. “And it’s a fact of life that that identity will get sent to third parties at some point.”

On some sites, the shared information includes much more than just a username: the study found that the free online dating site, OKCupid, sent the gender, age, zip code, relationship status and ‘drug use frequency’ to two companies that sell personal data in auctions, BlueKai and Lotame.

Mayer presented his results at a press conference in Washington, D.C. held by a coalition of privacy advocacy groups. The title of the conference was: “Yes, They Really Know it’s You: The Digital Collection of Personal Information from Consumers and Citizens.”

As part of his research Mayer set up new user accounts on many different Web sites and surfed each one for about 15 minutes. He found that 61% of the Web sites transmitted identifying information to at least one outside web domain. But he did not check whether those outside domains were owned by the same company (such as YouTube sending data to its parent company Google, for instance).

The sites that transmitted the most data were Rottentomatoes.com, a movie-rating site, which sent identifying information to 83 domains and Cafemom.com, an online community for moms, which sent data to 59 domains.

For more on Mayer’s research, visit http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/node/6740.   

Compliance October 12, 2011

DoL Seeks to Recover More Than $400K for Benefit Plans

The U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) has filed a complaint in federal court seeking to restore $436,322.07 to two benefit plans of Columbus-based Clark Graphics.
Reported by

Based on the findings of an investigation by the department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), the lawsuit alleges that the plans’ administrator, Pension Retirement Planning, along with its President, Marcia Dowdell, failed to account for money deposited to the plans in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

Additionally, the suit alleges that the owners of Clark Graphics – Mary Clark, James Clark, and Stephen Clark – failed in their fiduciary responsibilities as plan trustees by neglecting to monitor the actions of Dowdell and Pension Retirement Planning. They failed to review and reconcile account statements for EBSA Form 5500 filings, review participant distribution calculations, and require Pension Retirement Planning to issue participant statements.

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The suit alleges that Dowdell failed to account for $326,147.22 out of more than $1.1 million that was transferred into a trust account maintained by Pension Retirement Planning on behalf of the Clark Graphics Profit Sharing Plan from May 30, 2000, to August 31, 2009. Additionally, Dowdell failed to account for $110,174.85 out of $1 million placed by the Clark Graphics Defined Benefit Plan in the trust during the same period. Dowdell failed to maintain accurate records for participants in both plans; consequently, some participants have not received the correct retirement benefits.

The complaint seeks the restoration of all plan losses for which the defendants are liable, with appropriate interest. It also seeks to permanently enjoin all four individuals from serving as a fiduciary or service provider to any employee benefit plan subject to ERISA.

The case is Solis v. Clark Graphics Inc., et. al.  

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