Marc Theerman has an informative post on the Ringleader Mediastamp Law Suit. You should read the post, but the gist of it is that Ringleader, a mobile advertising company, has been sued because it is using a mobile "cookie" technology called Mediastamp. Apparently, this technology does not permit the person on whose system the Mediastamp technology is placed to opt out. As if that were not enough, unlike traditional cookie technology, the Mediastamp coding, apparently, cannot be erased (or at least not permanently erased).

 The fact that someone has brought a class action case around this technology suggests that someone thinks there are some damages. In any event the mere fact of a class action claim is a hassle. If it goes anywhere, and maybe even if it does not, it is may well have repercussions for what other advertising companies do and don't do.

 The presence of a claim, without regards to the merits, also suggests that there is some lack of clarity around what advertising companies can and cannot do. Any time there is a lack of clarity around an issue like this one, where there could be real money at stake, there will be this kind of friction and waste in the system.

 This brings me to my next point:

Why would someone deploy such a technology? What if you made it erasable, like traditional cookies? What if you let people opt out or opt in? The implication seems to me to be that the user (Ringleader, in this case) does not think that people would opt in, or the user thinks all would opt out or erase the program. So, they make it hard for you. Once you have it you are stuck with it.

A company that does this sort of thing (depositing a tracker on your computer/cell phone/iPAD that you canÕt delete or opt of), is admitting that people would never voluntarily let them do that. Otherwise, just ask and let people erase.

The biggest single problem with this sort of behavior is that users of computers, smart phones and other devices, kind of know that there are companies out there that will be doing things the users don't like or want. It breeds distrust and lack of confidence in the web. This kind of distrust slows adoption and becomes a drag on use. This is why we need clear standards that consumers and advertisers understand and that enhance confidence and quality of experience.