Tuesday, January 04, 2011

Do Not Track Me!

The US Federal Trade Commission has proposed that consumers be allowed to subscribe to a "do not track" system similar to the "do not call" lists used to block telemarketers. We welcome any move which would stop being interrupted once again by any cold marketing be it on the phone, by mail or over the net. The question is whether a ‘do not track’ button goes far enough?

Microsoft has said that it will release a feature in Internet Explorer 9 where users will be ale to turn on and select a list of sites to block. Now Mozilla is talking ‘do not track’ and the option of only allowing third-party cookies during a Firefox session and opting out the user from online tracking by default.

Perhaps we are starting to see a kick back against the invasive tracking of activity and also a pro active anti spam approach by browsers. Maybe the browser of choice in the future will be the one that protects and not just opens the doors to all. However could a ‘do not track’ effectively dampen the rise in ad spend on the internet and stifle some service’s ability to live off the back of our activity information?

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