Online Privacy News and Views
Ignoring Do Not Track Risks Cookie Law Compliance
The UK’s most used cookie law compliance model is not compliant if Do Not Track requests are ignored by websites setting tracking cookies, according to the UK Information Commissioners Office (ICO) case work team.
Is Facebook’s Ad Platform Incompatible with EU Law?
Facebook has announced the launch of a new online advertising platform that looks set to take consumer tracking to a whole new level, and is likely to open up a new front in the battle for online privacy. It may also be in breach of EU marketing and privacy rules.
Do Not Track Gets Thumbs Down from EU
Efforts to create a standard for Do Not Track (DNT) browser requests have been going on for many years now, but just as the technical issues look like coming to an end, the real questions about its effectiveness for privacy are as unresolved as ever. Now, the Article 29 Working Party seem to be saying that form their point of view, it has been a massive waste of time.
More Consumers Turn Against Online Tracking
A new consumer survey in the US has found that 85% of consumers are opposed to ubiquitous tracking by online advertising companies.
Data Broker Calls For New Ethics
Scott Howe is CEO of Acxiom, one of the largest data technology businesses in the world, and often given the label ‘the largest company you’ve never heard of’. In a potentially ground breaking article in Ad Age just this week, Scott appears to have held his hands up on behalf of an industry and made the statement ‘we must do better’.
Personalisation vs. Privacy
Sixty-two percent of British consumers say they would rather have better online privacy, than personalised services and recommendations. Is it time to start getting permission to personalise web services?
New Do Not Track Alert for Optanon
Optanon has long had the capability to respond to the Do Not Track signal, however we have now rolled out a new interface element that automatically displays to the visitor to show the response.
The World’s First Do Not Track Law
The state government of California has in the last few days enacted the first law anywhere in the world that recognises the Do Not Track setting now found in most browsers. California law AB370 requires companies that collect data on Californian residents to declare in their privacy policy how they respond to the ‘do not track’ signal sent by some visitors browsers.
The End of Do Not Track
Jonathan Mayer has resigned as chair of the group responsible for agreeing the Do Not Track standard. His resignation letter makes it clear that after 18 months with almost no progress, agreement on the standard is unlikely to be reached by the opposing sides of the arguments. It now seems increasingly likely that the attempt to create a Do Not Track standard that the whole of the web community can agree on will fail.
One Fifth of UK Consumers Reject Online Tracking
Almost exactly a year ago, Mozilla released figures showing that user adoption of Do Not Track had grown by 35% in six months. Last week they released a new Do Not Track dashboard which shows how that growth has not only continued, but accelerated.
