Cookies = Stalking?

January 28, 2000 7:24 AM

Cookies = Stalking? Some wacko attorney is suing Yahoo on behalf of a company that wanted to buy Yahoo users' data. Yahoo stopped giving them data, so they're suing for 4 billion dollars, and part of that is a goofy notion that a website delivering cookies to your computer is "trespassing" on your hard drive and "like a big electronic eyeball in your house." They're trying to use an anti-stalking law in their favor against Yahoo's cookie setting of visitors. Great, as if the recent double-click thing hasn't scared people enough about cookies...
posted by mathowie (1 comment total)

The thing that's so horrible about these kinds of law suits is that they water down the legal system, waste everyone's time and money, and spread misconceptions to people everywhere as the media grabs onto the story. Some company gets mad because Yahoo wount let them have their way and they retaliate by figuratively grabbing the ball and throwing it over the fence. At least these law suits, when resolved, usually clarify the issue at hand for both the judicial system and the private sector.

I just checked, and there are 398 cookies on my hard drive. I'll call my lawyer. We're all going to be rich!
posted by sixfoot6 at 10:24 AM on January 28, 2000