- Alexa is a market research tool. The idea behind the
Alexa toolbar was to create "Smart Browsing". By having the Alexa
toolbar installed on your computer, you have the ability to see "behind
the scenes" info about a web site you are visiting. When you are at
a web site you can click a button and view details about the web site such
as owner information, related web sites, how many visitors they actually
get, and reviews of the web site. This is all intended to give Alexa users
the ability to make informed decisions about a web site, and to also allow
them to be able to see other related sites, sites that may give them more
information on what they may be searching for, hence "Smart Browsing".
-
- But is this really what the toolbar is all about? Is
the information reliable? No to both of those questions. In particular,
the information Alexa provides about web sites is not reliable at all.
-
- First off, Alexa tracks the surfing habits of anyone
who has the Alexa toolbar embedded in their browser. Alexa gets more than
just your surfing habits, they track where you go, how you got there, and
other info such as what you are buying online, and who you are purchasing
from.
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- Stated in Alexa's Terms of Use: ALEXA'S BROWSER COMPANION
SOFTWARE ("TOOLBAR SERVICE") COLLECTS AND STORES INFORMATION
ABOUT THE WEB PAGES YOU VIEW, THE DATA YOU ENTER IN ONLINE FORMS AND SEARCH
FIELDS, AND, WITH VERSIONS 5.0 AND HIGHER, THE PRODUCTS YOU PURCHASE ONLINE
WHILE USING THE TOOLBAR SERVICE. ALTHOUGH ALEXA DOES NOT ATTEMPT TO ANALYZE
WEB USAGE DATA TO DETERMINE THE IDENTITY OF ANY ALEXA USER, SOME INFORMATION
COLLECTED BY THE TOOLBAR SERVICE IS PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE. ALEXA AGGREGATES
AND ANALYZES THE INFORMATION IT COLLECTS TO IMPROVE ITS SERVICE AND TO
PREPARE REPORTS ABOUT AGGREGATE WEB USAGE AND SHOPPING HABITS.
-
- It's no wonder the internet giant Amazon.com bought Alexa.
In fact, the Alexa toolbar is now used by Amazon to direct you to them
if you are searching for a product online, searching via the Alexa toolbar.
-
- The trade for your personal information would not be
too bad of a trade if the information Alexa provided about web sites was
actually of use. The truth is, the info is of no use and cannot be relied
upon at all.
-
- First off, the related web sites often are not even related
at all. Anyone who has a web site used to be able to use the Alexa toolbar
to in effect, 'piggy back' on another web site's traffic. Anyone could
who has a web site could input their web site into the section that says
'People who visit this site also visit...' That's all you had to do, and
anyone could do it. It happened all the time. So, if I had a web site and
I was looking for more traffic, I would find a high traffic web site and
put my site as a site in the 'People who visit this site also visit...'
section and when Alexa visitors would view the information about the web
site they are at, they would see that 'People who visit this site also
visit...' my site. Did they really? No, but they did now. That's how the
piggy backing worked. Now I can only guess that what Alexa calls 'Related
Links' is determined by where people have come from or where they go to
next. So, related links? It is a good thing that not enough people are
viewing porn before or after they are at my site, else there might be links
to porn sites as 'Related Sites'. That is why related links that Alexa
provides often have no relevance to the web site a person is visiting.
So what good is that?
-
- What's worse, and most relied upon, the public information
that is made available in the form of 'reviews' are from people who do
not have to identify themselves at all, so they are not held accountable.
This part of the Alexa service could be quite useful when it comes to making
a decision about whether or not you are going to buy a product from a web
site or not. That is what it was intended for, for people to write reviews
about the quality of products and services provided. But, anyone can write
anything they want, both good and bad, and the reviews are placed almost
instantly. When reading the reviews, unfortunately, most people tend to
believe them, not realizing the reviews could be 100% bogus and not only
that, but contain blatant libel.
-
- So what good is the product Alexa offers? A user gets
to surf around and see information that is potentially bogus, libelous,
misleading, and provides additional links to sites that are completely
unrelated. In exchange for all this useless information, the user gives
up basically all the information regarding their surfing and shopping habits,
to include personally identifiable information.
-
- ALEXA AGGREGATES AND ANALYZES THE INFORMATION IT COLLECTS
TO IMPROVE ITS SERVICE AND TO PREPARE REPORTS ABOUT AGGREGATE WEB USAGE
AND SHOPPING HABITS.
-
- I do not see this. Are they improving their service?
I don't see it. As I see things, the Alexa toolbar is like a placebo. A
person thinks they are getting useful information about web sites in exchange
for having 'big brother', in a sense, watch over their shoulder.
-
- But this does not stop here. The current review system
allows also for malicious misuse and Alexa has no intentions of changing
it, as I will show on down this page.
-
- The reviews are anonymously created, and they are rarely
ever filtered. Alexa claims that with millions of sites and reviews to
deal with, they cannot possibly humanly review and filter all the reviews.
Understandable, but...
-
- I am the founder of iSAAF.com, the Internet Surfers Alliance
Against Fraud. iSAAF will have been around for 3 years in January of 2003.
I help educate people about online fraud. I expose fraud publicly as well.
As a result of what I do, I have become well hated by individuals who have
been exposed.
-
- In retaliation, libelous, *anonymous* comments are posted
to the Alexa database. Under the guise of 'reviews' libelous comments were
posted about not just the web site, but comments about me personally as
well. People posting as if they knew me personally, and even making threats
to my family.
-
- These comments have resulted in great hardship for me.
The comments were explicitly for the purpose of damaging my credibility,
and as a result has cost me jobs, put my ex-fianc� in fear of
her life, has created a great deal of emotional trauma in myself as a result
of being completely powerless over the posts, and overall has created a
loss of potential income.
-
- As such, Alexa's service violates my Constitutional Right
to protect myself, my family, and property, not to mention other basic
fundamental rights.
-
- I wrote to Alexa about the libel and their review system.
They claim they are not responsible for anything someone posts. However,
in their Terms of Service, they state that their service is not to be used
for libel.
-
- I contend Alexa becomes ultimately responsible when they
are informed of libel, and as such they should act upon it. It took lighting
a fire, but I managed to get most of the libel removed from the reviews
about iSAAF.com.
-
- When addressing their review system, in particular the
fact that anyone can post anything they want anonymously they clearly stated
to me they will not do anything about it. Alexa does requires a person
to have a valid email address and they send a link for verification purposes
before the post is made public, however, this is often useless in cases
where people use free web-based email accounts like Hotmail or YahooMail
because using these types of accounts do not supply ISP and other info
that is normally added to the hidden headers of an email, therefore rendering
the info about the person making a post, virtually useless.
-
- Alexa does disclose information about how to add a message
to a file called robots.txt on a web site's server, to tell the Alexa robot
to not index your site and leave it alone. I placed this, however, once
your site is in their database, you are there for good.
-
- You cannot have your site removed from their database,
because they are legally entitled being that all web site content is public
and as such, they can do whatever they want with it, for the most part.
I have requested to have my site removed form their database, and they
denied my request very bluntly.
-
- I contend a person should be allowed to have their site
removed from the Alexa database. I have the option to have my phone number
unlisted. When a person has a phone number, it is free reign to solicitors,
until you have your number removed from their access. A person has that
option. So why should this be any different?
-
- As to my Constitutional Rights being violated, the simplest
and certainly reasonable alternative would be to be able to opt-out of
reviews, meaning to have the option to turn off reviews for my site. However,
even in light of the complete misuse and abuse that the current review
system poses, Alexa states they will not turn off this feature. How many
others are being violated just as I? With millions of Alexa users, I certainly
cannot be the only one.
-
- In doing what I do, I should not have to deal with the
misuse and abuse of a public service which has basically become a public
board used for illegal purposes with the sole intent to destroy my life,
which, for all intensive purposes, is not what Alexa is intended for in
the first place.
-
- People have unlisted phone numbers for a reason. But
this is far beyond the scope of a listed telephone number.
-
- I have not the money for a retainer for a lawyer. However,
I would certainly be very open to consulting with a lawyer that would be
interested in taking on Alexa.com, parent company, Amazon.com, on a contingency
basis.
-
- In Amazon.com's quest for market research, am I to lay
down and just take being a victim and let them continue on while others
are potentially being victimized as well? In their quest for market research,
people are being hurt, lives are being destroyed, libel is rampant. Over
market research? Who would have thought lives could be destroyed in the
quest for market research?
-
- The following is my communication with Alexa:
-
- ---------------
-
- To Alexa.com:
-
-
- I am the owner of iSAAF.com. I have put in place the
robots.txt to not be spidered by Alexa, however this is by far not enough.
-
- Alexa is allowed by your human filters to allow libel,
very vicious libel, and this completely is not what the tool bar was intended
for.
-
- Anonymous libel has been posted to your database and
is made publicly available and Alexa has provided no means to webmasters
to have their site removed in such cases, outside of having it ordered
by the courts, that I can find.
-
- I understand that a web site and it's content are publicly
available, however, the misuse of the Alexa toolbar and the anonymous posting
of libel which is human filtered and randomly reviewed by Alexa staff is
a direct violation of my rights protected by the US Constitution.
-
- If my site is not removed from your database and the
issue addressed full scale as to the operation of Alexa and the use of
it's database, I will be forced to seek legal counsel and bring action
against Alexa and it's parent company Amazon.com. This issue potentially
could be a class action lawsuit and others in the same situation as I will
be sought out.
-
- Thank you,
-
- Paul Coonan
iSAAF.com
Internet Surfers Alliance Against Fraud
-
-
- ----------
-
- Alexa's response:
-
- I write to inform you that we must respectfully decline
your request to disable the review facility from Alexa.com's service with
respect to this website.
-
- As you may know, Alexa.com and its services are operated
in the United States by Alexa Internet, a California corporation. Given
the passive nature of Alexa.com's review service, Alexa.com cannot be charged
with reviewing, investigating, and determining the truth or falsity of
every statement made in or about the millions of websites for which we
gather data. Likewise, we cannot possibly undertake to verify or investigate
the multitude of opinions regarding those websites that users express.
While we do try to remove reviews that run afoul of our guidelines (for
example, those containing profanity, obscenities, or violent remarks),
we do not engage in the business of censoring the expression of honestly
held opinions. United States federal law specifically recognizes our right
to offer this service free of censorship and immunizes Alexa Internet from
any liability for third-party statements posted in this manner. See Communications
Decency Act of 1986, 47 U.S.C. sec. 230.
-
- Accordingly, we will not disable the review facility
at this time. Please feel free to let us know if you observe any abuse
of our services with respect to the above-mentioned website or otherwise.
-
- Regards,
-
- Alexis Rossi Director Customer Service
-
- ------
-
- My reply back:
-
- It is by the abuse of your review system, that individuals
like me are victims. As per your terms, the use of your review system is
not to be used for libel. I understand that Alexa itself is 'immune' from
what is posted to your review system, however, I question the integrity
of your review system, and I should have the right to have my site removed
from your database and all reviews therein. Furthermore, I feel it would
be in your best interest to review your own review system because it is
not being used as it was intended for.
-
- Most of the reviews of iSAAF.com are not about iSAAF.com
the web site, but they are about me as an individual. My Constitutional
rights have been violated and Alexa is ultimately accountable because Alexa
allows it to happen, and does not allow content to be removed upon a simple
request.
-
- Every person who has a web site should have the right
to protect themselves from libel that Alexa allows to be anonymously posted.
-
- I see that Alexa has removed much of the libel about
iSAAF.com but it took lighting a fire to make it happen. That is not enough.
A web site owner should be able to opt-out of reviews. We as Americans
have the Constitutional right to protect ourselves and our families. If
Alexa does not allow a web site owner to opt-out of reviews, then I contend
that Alexa is violating my Constitutional rights and I will press this
issue.
-
- I will be forwarding this to the all the appropriate
organizations that would have interest in this matter.
-
- Paul Coonan
iSAAF.com
-
- http://www.epinions.com/content_83182915204
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