Google Adds To Mozilla's Push For 'Do Not Track'

AndyAndyAndyAndy writes "In a morning blog post, Google announced the release of a Chrome plug-in called 'Keep My Opt-Outs,' which hopes to block all tracking cookies. Interestingly, it is released as open-source with the hopes that it will gain quick deployment on non-Chrome browsers and find a robust foothold against ads. The story is also covered at Computerworld, which has broader insight into the issue, looking at Google, Mozilla and Firefox, and seems to indicate more rapid change is looming — potentially from the FCC itself."

Comments

Fast forward

[serano]

Why don't we just skip to the part where everyone has enabled this feature.

Lesson to Advertisers: Don't be Evil!

[MagikSlinger]

You think your cookies and tracking are harmless, or even good, but as you can see, very powerful backlashes form which will hurt everyone because you abused your privelege, and cross-site cookies tracking is a privelege. I understand the need for advertising tracking to improve the value of the ad to the ad buyer and to me, the ad "consumer". But considering it's becoming a hodge-podge and used to make people very uncomfortable, there was an inevitible push back.

You lost the Javascript/flash wars because you allowed abusive banner ads. Sure, you got a quick hit for a year or two, but for how long until AdBlocker has become de rigeur for the heavy Internet browser? So by trying to be too flashy and too in your face, you lost all right to use Javascript/flash for your ads.

Now you are losing the cookie battle too.

Just try not to be evil and respect people's wishes. Is it really that hard? Really?

Re:Google?

[BitZtream]

That seems either incredibly counter-intuitive, or incredibly cynical ("no one will use it except people who know how to do it anyway, so why not get some good press").

Its not only good press and taking advantage of the fact that people are lazy and won't do it ... It also gives them an easy bit of legal help.

If they make a bunch of tools available to protect your privacy then you don't have nearly as much room to bitch about the tracking since you do have a way to limit the tracking.

Second, if no one uses the tools and someone starts trying to push legislation through to make tracking more legally difficult, google and other online advertisers can jump in and scream 'we gave them tools and no one used them, the people don't want this!' ... and it'll be REALLY hard to argue their point when they have proof that the general population doesn't care enough to use the tools.

I won't call you cynical, just realistic and wise.

Re:But...

[Anonymous Coward]

That's not Offtopic, for fuck's sake.