At the beginning of this month the Federal Trade Commission released a guide for consumers and businesses regarding online privacy issues. One interesting recommendation is the "Do Not Track" option, which would give consumers the choice whether they would want their information on their internet behavior collected and used for targeted marketing or not. Businesses have been using these online tracking techniques to specifically target their products to what they perceive to be interested consumers for years. Consumers have claimed that this type of collection violates their privacy rights. Much of the FTC guide however is quite vague. It calls for "reasonable"measures in data collection and to have "reasonable" security measures in the security of this data. The question then becomes who determines what reasonable is? Will it be the consumers, who are against the tracking of their internet browsing, or will it be the corporations who are doing the tracking to specifically market their ads to consumers. I predict that the corporations will be the ones to determine what "reasonable" is. With corporations in the wallets of politicians they will get what they want and it usually is at the expense of the individual.
Interestingly enough, in an attempt to regain users web browser users, Microsoft has claimed that their next version of Internet Explorer will allow users to block such tracking techniques. Internet Explorer was once the most popular browser on the web, but now ranks a distant 4th place. Mozilla, maker of the web's most popular browser today, initially developed a tool for their bowser which would have blocked these type of tracking measures. Unfortunately they scrapped the project fearing a possible backlash from ad agencies that they work with. Even though web browsers do allow for tracking, browsers such as Firefox, Safari, and Google Chrome also allow extensions for their specific browsers. Extensions are small software add-ons for web browsers that enhance the functionality and use of a web browser. A popular extension that exists is one known as AdBlocker. Now AdBlocker doesn't block the tracking of your web browsing, but it does block a majority of the targeted ads that we see when browsing the internet. So if you are tired of being bombarded by ads as you browse the web check out AdBlocker for your respective internet browser to take out a majority of those annoying ads.
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ReplyDeletegood post man. I knew IE wasnt being used as much as it once was, but the fact that its a distant fourth makes it a gigantic percentage drop, from at one point being number one by alot. It needs something innovative to regain what it once had and maybe if its the first browser to have a "Do Not Track" button people will start using it again (at least until Firefox and Chrome do it to).
ReplyDeleteI think the "Do Not Track" option will negatively affect the way marketers work because as Komal said "specific target markets would be eliminated". Check out my blog for more info on the "Do Not Track" option.
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ReplyDeleteI think that the government should set more specific guidelines in determining what does providing "reasonable" assurance for online privacy means. I think the FTC's recommendation was a mere attempt for public relations. There has to be some pressures by the big marketing firms in Washington to stop the "Do not track" option. We have to follow the development of this issue and see what regulations will come.
ReplyDeleteI believe it is a good initiative by Microsoft to integrate into their browser this type of option. This was already tried by Facebook with mixed results. Check out my blog for more information about this issue.