Acerno

What I didn't know was that Swatch sent information about my purchase to a company called Acerno, which runs an advertising network that reaches 80 of the top 100 Web sites.

Advertiser Blog 2008

Mr. Sperry said Acerno was following the guidelines of the Network Advertising Initiative.

What Online Stores Sell: Data About You - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com 2008

Mr. Sperry said Acerno was following the guidelines of the Network Advertising Initiative.

What Online Stores Sell: Data About You - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com 2008

That last link goes to the Acerno Web site, which has just a bit more information:

What Online Stores Sell: Data About You - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com 2008

Acerno requires online stores that feed information to it to disclose what it does in the privacy policies posted on their Web sites.

What Online Stores Sell: Data About You - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com 2008

Last week, Akamai agreed to buy Acerno, a three-year old advertising network that draws data about what people shop for from more than 400 online stores.

Forget Taxes — This Plumber Wants to Sell Your Data - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com 2008

That is the structure used by Acerno, the company Akamai bought, which collects data about the customers of online stores.

Forget Taxes — This Plumber Wants to Sell Your Data - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com 2008

It has developed several new services that will be introduced in coming weeks, separate from its acquisition of Acerno.

Forget Taxes — This Plumber Wants to Sell Your Data - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com 2008

It has developed several new services that will be introduced in coming weeks, separate from its acquisition of Acerno.

Forget Taxes — This Plumber Wants to Sell Your Data - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com 2008

When I talked to Tom Sperry, the chief executive and chief privacy officer of Acerno, I was curious whether he thought that Web users understood what his company did, even in the broadest strokes.

What Online Stores Sell: Data About You - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com 2008