NebuAd Halts Plans For Web Tracking

Tech firm NebuAd has put on hold plans to widely deploy an online advertising technology that tracks consumers' every Web click while Congress reviews privacy concerns associated with the technique. The Silicon Valley company announced this week that founder and chief executive Bob Dykes was resigning. His departure comes as a number of Internet companies have suspended or canceled trials of NebuAd's controversial tracking technique, known as deep-packet inspection, marketed to companies seeking to target ads to Web users. "Our platform was architected to be a multi-channel ad system," spokeswoman Janet McGraw wrote in an e-mail. "With the Internet service provider channel currently on hold with the events of the summer, we have broadened the focus of our business but continue to enhance our technologies for that ISP channel." She said that NebuAd supports the companies "who have put their trial deployments on hold so that Congress can spend additional time addressing the privacy issues and policies associated with online behavioral advertising."