Mathew J. Schwartz reports:
Will the future see a “Do Not Track” setting in browsers that prevents data brokers and Web sites from tracking a consumer’s every click?
[…]
Industry groups, however, have slammed the FTC’s proposal, suggesting it would wreck the ability of Web sites to provide personalized content. “The Internet is comprised of millions of interconnected Web sites, networks and computers — a literal ecosystem, all built upon the flow of different types of data,” according to a statement released by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). “To create a Do Not Track program would require reengineering the Internet’s architecture.” Instead, it suggested a new self-regulated program for online behavioral advertising.
But consumer rights groups have been arguing differently. The Center for Digital Democracy and U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) on Friday released a statement recommending that the FTC require that all surveillance technologies in use be disclosed. It also wants people to be allowed to view and correct the data collected about them, in addition to a Do Not Track feature.
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