Via Slash Gear
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Microsoft has let it be known that their final release of the Internet Explorer 10
web browser software will have “Do Not Track” activated right out of
the box. This information has upset advertisers across the board as web
ad targeting – based on your online activities – is one of the current
mainstays of big-time advertiser profits. What Do Not Track, or DNT does
is to send out signal from your web browser, Internet Explorer 10 in
this case, to websites letting them know that the user refuses to be
seen in such a way.

A very similar Do Not Track feature currently exists on Mozilla’s Firefox browser
and is swiftly becoming ubiquitous around the web as a must-have
feature for web privacy. This will very likely bring about a large
change in the world of online advertising specifically as, again,
advertisers rely on invisible tracking methods so heavily. Tracking in
place today also exists on sites such as Google where your search
history will inform Google on what you’d like to see for search results, News posts, and advertisement content.
The Digital Advertising Aliance, or DAA, has countered Microsoft’s
announcement saying that the IE10 browser release would oppose
Microsoft’s agreement with the White House earlier this year. This
agreement had the DAA agreeing to recognize and obey the Do Not Track
signals from IE10 just so long as the option to have DNT activated was
not turned on by default. Microsoft Chief Privacy Officer Brendan Lynch
spoke up this week on the situation this week as well.
“In a world where consumers live a large part of their
lives online, it is critical that we build trust that their personal
information will be treated with respect, and that they will be given a
choice to have their information used for unexpected purposes.
While there is still work to do in agreeing on an industry-wide
definition of DNT, we believe turning on Do Not Track by default in IE10
on Windows 8 is an important step in this process of establishing
privacy by default, putting consumers in control and building trust
online.” – Lynch
Personal Comment:
Do Not Track