Judge Dismisses Suit Against DoubleClick

A federal judge has dismissed a class-action suit accusing No. 1 online advertiser DoubleClick Inc. of violating consumers’ privacy rights by collecting information on their Web-surfing habits. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Naomi Buchwald in New York is a major victory for Internet marketers, at least temporarily establishing a precedent upholding their right to assemble user profiles for targeting online ads. The plaintiffs offered no evidence DoubleClick violated federal laws against wiretapping and computer fraud, Buchwald said. Buchwald rejected arguments that DoubleClick’s placement of “cookies” on a user’s computer amounts to “unauthorized access” that violates the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. Cookies are computer programs commonly used by Web sites to store personal information about users to speed their access on return trips to the site. A lead attorney for the plaintiffs, Melvyn Weiss, could not be reached for comment. Shares of New York-based DoubleClick rose $1 to close at $11.56 on Nasdaq.