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Interview With Mozilla's Ryan Merkley: Tracking the Trackers

Posted by samzenpus on from the listen-but-don't-track dept.

colinneagle writes "Among the eye-opening statements in his recent TED talk, Mozilla CEO Gary Kovacs said, 'Privacy is not an option, and it shouldn't be the price we accept for just getting on the Internet. Our voices matter and our actions matter even more.' After you download and install Collusion in Firefox, you can 'see who is tracking you across the Web and following you through the digital woods,' Kovacs stated. 'Going forward, all of our voices need to be heard. Because what we don't know can actually hurt us. Because the memory of the Internet is forever. We are being watched. It's now time for us to watch the watchers.' I've been using Collusion for some time now and it is jaw-dropping to watch all the sites that still stalk us across the web even with DNT and privacy add-ons. The Collusion page states: 'The Ford Foundation is supporting Mozilla to develop the Collusion add-on so it will enable users to not only see who is tracking them across the Web, but also to turn that tracking off when they want to.'"

8 of 165 comments (clear)

  1. How long until Google notices? by pegasustonans · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The Mozilla Foundation reportedly receives ~$300 million annually from Google.

    Google is certainly an interested party when it comes to tracking user behavior.

    Is this really a good move for Mozilla strategically?

    --
    And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. --Will
    1. Re:How long until Google notices? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Is this really a good move for Mozilla strategically?

      Yes because the general public do value privacy, and being on the side of public opinion is priceless.

    2. Re:How long until Google notices? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Of course it is. Just because they're funded, doesn't mean they're controlled. And I don't think transparency is bad for Google's main business model. People more or less know what Google gets when it is used for searching. I predict they'll jump on board with this one and provide something similar in Chrome. It's the right kind of tool to win over the masses.

    3. Re:How long until Google notices? by Jahta · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The Mozilla Foundation reportedly receives ~$300 million annually from Google.

      Google is certainly an interested party when it comes to tracking user behavior.

      Is this really a good move for Mozilla strategically?

      The key issue here is informed consent. The "Collusion add-on so it will enable users to not only see who is tracking them across the Web, but also to turn that tracking off when they want to."

      I've no problem allowing cookies and scripts from sites I trust and who are providing me with a service I want. The problem is the number of "drive-by" cookies and scripts you can get hit with.

      When I started using NoScript I was amazed at amount of content I was being silently served from third-party sites without my knowledge or consent.

  2. New friends by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "Among the eye-opening statements in his recent TED talk, Mozilla CEO Gary Kovacs said, 'Privacy is not an option, and it shouldn't be the price we accept for just getting on the Internet.

    Evidently, Gary has never met Mark Zuckerberg.

  3. Re:Go Ahead, Track Tor Exit Nodes! by buchner.johannes · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Tor won't help you if the website puts a cookie in your browser (which this discussion is about). What you need is a selective cookie policy (like Ghostery) -- it makes my Collusion graph blank.

    --
    NB: The message above might reflect my opinion right now, but not necessarily tomorrow or next year.
  4. Re:Download/Demo here by R_Dorothy · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Yep, I've noticed that ad networks are very good at trying to sell me something I've already bought.

    --
    Stupid flounders!
  5. poison with false positives by PopeRatzo · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Does anyone know what ever happened to that project for salting the tracking data with false positives? I think it was called "Antiphormlite" and it had gotten up to version 1.3 I think.

    I see it talked about on teh google but there doesn't seem to be any place it can be downloaded.

    I love the idea of fouling tracking data. It's not enough to "track the trackers". I want to make sure they go away unless they reform themselves.

    This is one of those areas where the "free market" is not going to come up with a solution. People say, "I want privacy" and the Free Market says, "Fuck you, pay me."

    It's going to take vandalism on a massive scale to fix this one.

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.