Online Ads, Privacy Remain In FTC Crosshairs

AC95 writes "The FTC wants to give users a browser-based tool for opting out of online behavioral tracking, a proposal that has privacy advocates cheering and online advertisers up in arms. A key issue, says FTC attorney Loretta Garrison, is that while most consumers know they're tracked online, they don't fully appreciate how much information is collected. Tim O'Reilly, founder and CEO of O'Reilly Media, worries about knee-jerk legislation criminalizing mistakes that are an inherent part of applying any new technology."

Comments

Re:blast

[DJRumpy]

Google is a data miner. Although I know they collect information, I also use their services for free. I understand it's a trade of services for something of value, so I'm not totally opposed to it, although it does give me pause when I use google to search and I have a google account. Although it's easy to claim they don't tie my account info to my searches, It would be a goldmine (literally) if they did so. I find it hard to believe they aren't collecting more than I'm aware of. I applaud this intent by the FTC. After all, Google will still have billions who never install such a plugin, or turn such a feature to exclude them from data mining on in their browser.

I don't want no stinking toolbar to help me out... F those data miners!

An orgy of data

[Itninja]

If you can't fight it, exploit it. I have actually gotten some pretty cool (free) stuff by misrepresenting myself to various sites online (up to the legal limit, of course).Everything from free Amazon gift cards, to free electronics. I even got a free mobile phone (with service paid for 6 months) once because I claimed I had a business with over 100 employees and that I made over $100K yearly (that was back in 1998 when phones were pricier and I only made about 1/3 of that). Free magazine subscriptions, free enterprise web hosting, free lawnmowers, it's all there for the taking for those willing to game the game.

Re:With the right addon...

[similar_name]

What about tracking the IP? I use Linux and my roommate uses Windows. I have had to search for drivers and technical information many many times for Linux. One weekend I reinstalled Windows for my roommate. On a fresh install under Windows I began to search for drivers. Google's results kept taking me to sites for Linux drivers.

Don't accept cookies?

[ynohoo]

I only accept cookies from sites I trust. Yes this sometimes causes problems on untrusted sites - which gives me further reason to not trust them! If a web designer does not anticipate "no cookie" users, their intention is to give your privacy a good shafting.

Stop Following Me Around, Club Med

[speedlaw]

I got a taste of this when I went looking online for vacations. I saw "club med" ads on every page I went to for a good two weeks. It got really creepy after a while. I went away but NOT to Club Med.

How would a Do-Not-Track system work?

[scdeimos]

I'm all for the FTC/government cracking down on behavioural tracking, but how would such a system work and how could it even be policed?

In the case of the Do-Not-Call system:

• Individuals must register their telephone number with the government (in Australia, at least, you have to repeat this registration every 12 months)
• The government then exports the list to the advertisers/marketers on a regular basis.
• Advertisers/marketers are expected to integrate the list with their systems and honour its content.
• If advertisers/marketers call a number on the Do-Not-Call list it's still up to the individual to complain to the government about it, and the government is expected to pounce on the advertiser/marketer if the number was registered more than 30 days ago.

How would such a system translate to the web? (And I say the web as opposed to the internet as a whole, since the web seems to be where the battlefront is at the moment.)

Possiblities:

• Individuals have to register their IP addresses: fails because of dynamic IP address assignment at most ISP's.
• Individuals have to create a special Cookie: fails because Cookies are only sent to their origin domain - you can't set one for *.com, *.edu, etc.
• Special "X-Do-Not-Track: Yes" HTTP header: this could work but may be stripped by certain proxy servers enroute, rendering it useless. All browsers would have to be updated to include a UI preference that turns this on and off as well.

What about enforcement? How can you tell if someone is tracking you? How can you provably report it to the government so that they can do something about it?

Unfortunately it sounds like a bit of a pipe dream to me.