If you haven't been following the unfolding do-not-track drama in the browser wars, you might find these of interest.
Microsoft to advertisers: drop dead
Updated DNT draft says IE 10's default breaks the rules
Looks like we're witnessing the (re)birth of the Rodney Dangerfield of software, heh.
Microsoft to advertisers: drop dead
Fast forward to the technology industry in 2012: you’d think, based on the advertising industry’s reaction, that Microsoft said the same thing to it when it announced yesterday that the next version of its web browser, Internet Explorer 10, will ship with its “Do Not Track” feature turned on by default. The feature sends a message to each website you visit stating that you, the user, prefer not to be tracked. Obeying the message is optional.
This morning, everyone’s freaking the hell out. Wired calls the move a “nightmare” for ad networks, and the Digital Advertising Alliance felt the need to weigh in, expressing anger that Microsoft — a partner — would just go and make a decision without consideration (read: compliance) for the “consensus achieved over the appropriate standards for collecting and using web viewing data (and which today are enforced by strong self-regulation).”
Funny how a simple on/off switch has so many people pissed off. The end of behavioral advertising is nigh!
This morning, everyone’s freaking the hell out. Wired calls the move a “nightmare” for ad networks, and the Digital Advertising Alliance felt the need to weigh in, expressing anger that Microsoft — a partner — would just go and make a decision without consideration (read: compliance) for the “consensus achieved over the appropriate standards for collecting and using web viewing data (and which today are enforced by strong self-regulation).”
Funny how a simple on/off switch has so many people pissed off. The end of behavioral advertising is nigh!
Microsoft likely knew it was going to be an unpopular move for advertisers and tracking companies but went ahead and barged its way through a storm of criticism. Though, it wasn’t that the pressure was too much for Microsoft. It falls down to the “Do Not Track” specification itself. In short: the new draft rules must give the user the option to choose rather than Microsoft making the default decision for them.
The new draft specification — worked on by technology companies and browser makers, privacy advocates, and online advertising firms — now states that “explicit consent” is required from users, Wired reports. “An ordinary user agent must not send a Tracking Preference signal without a user’s explicit consent,” the new rules say. For example, “on first run, the user agent prompts the user to configure the Tracking Preference signal.”
Granted, it could end up with Microsoft forcing a new user to select a “do not allow websites to track me” versus an “allow websites to track me” option. The user has to choose, but it’s a pretty clear choice on which option a user will pick. ZDNet’s Ed Bott sees Microsoft’s move as more of a “consistent chain of events” that goes back many years. The chances are Microsoft’s position hasn’t changed. The Redmond-based software giant still wants to fight for the rights of its users… or wants to strike a deathly blow to Google. Either way, intentions aside, it’s a good move.
The new draft specification — worked on by technology companies and browser makers, privacy advocates, and online advertising firms — now states that “explicit consent” is required from users, Wired reports. “An ordinary user agent must not send a Tracking Preference signal without a user’s explicit consent,” the new rules say. For example, “on first run, the user agent prompts the user to configure the Tracking Preference signal.”
Granted, it could end up with Microsoft forcing a new user to select a “do not allow websites to track me” versus an “allow websites to track me” option. The user has to choose, but it’s a pretty clear choice on which option a user will pick. ZDNet’s Ed Bott sees Microsoft’s move as more of a “consistent chain of events” that goes back many years. The chances are Microsoft’s position hasn’t changed. The Redmond-based software giant still wants to fight for the rights of its users… or wants to strike a deathly blow to Google. Either way, intentions aside, it’s a good move.
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