InformationWeek

This policy is specific about what information is collected on these sites. As such, itęs very lengthy, with more than 20 pages of description. Itęs unfortunate that the policy doesnęt account for the individual collection practices of each of the offspring sites to help users decide which ones they would prefer to visit. Some information is collected once and reused, such as logon information.

Similar to Yahoo, much of the policy tries to sell users on sharing their information. Thereęs also the veiled threat that failure to provide information may disable portions of the service. This might be considered disingenuous, given the current political climate, but that may also be why itęs done.

The policy includes a fairly extensive description of the protection of children online, including compliance and beyond with the Childrenęs Online Privacy Protection Act.

Finally, the policy includes some pointers on how to protect your privacy online, which is refreshing. Sections such as "Know the risks" and "Educate yourself" should help to alert users to potential pitfalls on the Web. Now we just have to get folks to read these things. Canęt wait for P3P.

Seals
Trust-e

Information Collection

Type of Information	Collected?
Cookies	Session, navigation tracking, ad exposure
Anonymous information	Yes, mostly through cookies
Personal information	Name, E-mail required. Lots of other "optional" information collected, including gender, birthday, address, some financial.
IP address	Yes
Referrer	Yes
Ad view and usage	Yes (DoubleClick)
Search results	Collected for targeted marketing by Lycos

Information Sharing

Information Type	Shared?
Name, E-mail, etc.	Used, shared with partners
Site usage	Used, shared with partners and advertisers
Demographics	Used, shared with partners and advertisers
Aggregate information	Shared with partners and advertisers

Privacy Policy Features

Feature	Implemented?
Notice	Yes
Security	Sort of. Not collected through secure connection.
Options	Fairly extensive opt-out procedures, although you are required to go to each site to make these selections.
Access	Fairly extensive data-management functionality through the individual sites. Canęt seem to delete, however.

Lycos' Response:

The information in both the Lycos Network privacy policy and on Lycos Zone, the Lycos Network's children's site, is comprehensive. Lycos Zone does not collect personal information from anyone under the age of 13. Both it and its partners have limited "parent or teacher" sections to provide useful information for educational and at-home use of the Internet and Lycos Zone. The Lycos Network took great pains to create and implement the Lycos Family Membership in order to comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. Users cannot register (i.e. give personal information) on the Lycos Network if they are under 13. If you enter an age in the registration system of the network, you are taken to the Family Membership pages, where information is provided to parents and where credit cards are used to verify the age of the parent or guardian. That membership process and the notice to parents about COPPA are in the Lycos privacy policy--to a much greater degree than in many, if not most, other sites out there.

Like Yahoo and other top portals, we offer free services because we sell ads and send E-mails. We also offer the benefits of personalization. By registering at Lycos, your experience on the Web is made more personal and enjoyable, and you see ads and offers for products and services that we hope will appeal specifically to you, all for free.

To address your questions, the goal of our privacy policy is simple: disclosure. Sure, we're aware of privacy concerns. We rely on our technology to help us there. We are building and maintaining relationships based on trust. Anything short of full disclosure is unacceptable to us and our customers. We say what we do and do what we say. We educate our users where and when appropriate with extras on Internet safety, but the privacy policy is really about disclosure.