FTC Leaning Toward Do-Not-Track List for Online Ads

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Mary Shaw <mary.shaw () gmail com>
> Date: July 29, 2010 7:00:16 AM EDT
> To: dave () farber net
> Subject: Re: [IP] FTC Leaning Toward Do-Not-Track List for Online Ads

> Dave,
>
> This sounds very attractive -- until you realize how widely the do-not-call list is ignored.
>
> My home phone been on the do-not-call list since it opened.  I have filed a very large number of complaints via the 
> web site.  When I file these complaints I search for the numbers online, and they usually turn up with lots of other 
> complaints at sites like http://whocalled.us/ and http://800notes.com/  -- and many of those complaints report the 
> callee is on the do-not-call list.
>
> For example, I complained about 714-877-4451 in March 2010, and http://whocalled.us/ today shows complaints about 
> that number beginning a full year earlier, with more than two dozen complaints since mine, as recent as July 14. 
>
> It is true that the do-not-call list has reduced the number of calls, but that means that the remaining calls, which 
> are still a significant nuisance, are pretty much guaranteed to be unethical.  It has gotten to the point that I 
> don't answer the home phone any more, unless I specifically recognize the caller ID.  A few of my friends show up as 
> "private caller" for business reasons, which makes things awkward.
>
> The complaint mechanism for do-not-call violations is based on callees being sufficiently annoyed to file complaints. 
>  The problem with online tracking is that we don't even know we're being tracked.
>
> The description below suggests I could opt out of behavioral advertising. But just not *receiving* the ads isn't 
> enough -- I want to opt out of having the information collected for *any* reason.  In fact, if the information were 
> used *only* to send ads I might actually be interested in, that might be fine.  It's all the *other* uses that are 
> the problem.  Say I buy some scuba gear and make air and hotel reservations on Bonaire. I wouldn't mind receiving ads 
> about dive sites on Bonaire -- but I absolutely do not want my local burglar to know I'll be out of town that week.  
> Say I make online purchases of some over-the-counter medications that can be used for certain socially sensitive 
> conditions. Maybe I wouldn't mind hearing about other sources for those medications, but I absolutely do not want my 
> neighbors, employer, or insurance company to receive the information via back channels (especially since the 
> inference mechanisms are unreliable and I might be using them to grow better roses).
>
> So it would be a Good Thing to institute a do-not-track list, but it needs a mechanism other than voluntary 
> compliance of trackers and complaints of trackees to make it work.
>
> Mary
>
> On Thu, Jul 29, 2010 at 4:47 AM, Dave Farber <dave () farber net> wrote:
>
>
>
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> > From: Sashikumar N <sashikumar.n () gmail com>
> > Date: July 29, 2010 4:28:25 AM EDT
> > To: dave <dave () farber net>
> > Subject: FTC Leaning Toward Do-Not-Track List for Online Ads
>
> > Prof Dave,
> > For IP...
> >
> > regards
> > sashi
> >
> > FTC Leaning Toward Do-Not-Track List for Online Ads
> > By Kenneth Corbin
> > July 28, 2010
> >
> > As it prepares a major report with guidelines for protecting consumer privacy online, the Federal Trade Commission 
> > is mulling a simple mechanism that would allow users to opt out of behavioral tracking across the Web, the head of 
> > the agency told a Senate panel on Tuesday.
> >
> > FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said the system would be similar to the Do-Not-Call registry that enables consumers to 
> > shield their phone numbers from telemarketers.
> >
> > The agency has been conducting a series of workshops regarding online privacy and advertising for several months, 
> > and plans to release a report detailing its recommendations later this fall. Throughout those sessions, Leibowitz 
> > said that staffers consistently heard from consumers and advocacy groups that online privacy controls need to be 
> > simpler than the current options.
> >
> > "To this end, one idea we may explore in the context of behavioral advertising is a do-not-track mechanism that's 
> > more comprehensive and easier to use than the procedures currently available," Leibowitz told members of the Senate 
> > Commerce Committee. "Under such a mechanism, users could opt out of behavioral advertising more easily rather than 
> > having to make choices on website-by-website basis."
> >
> > <snip>
> >
> > http://www.ecommerce-guide.com/article.php/3895466
> >
> > -- 
> > Thankyou
> > regards
> > sashi
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