Goodbye Do Not Track

April 13, 2011 • 1 min read • By Carla Rover

Yesterday Senators John Kerry and John McCain introduced their “Commercial Privacy Bill of Rights Act” in its final form to Congress. The much-debated bill was a far cry from the Federal Trade Commission’s recommendations that would have enforced the use of a government-defined opt-out mechanism which might have severely restricted the tracking of website users.

In other words, the industry dodged a bullet. After at times seeming to take to street corners to scream “the end is nigh,” it turns out the government didn’t actually want to take their cookies away.

Websites would still have to receive a user’s consent to collect and store sensitive personal information such as credit card numbers, religious affiliations and health issues. Companies would have to offer users the option to opt-out of data collection entirely and offer users information on how the information collected would be used by marketers. The bill permits companies to determine how that consent is solicited and defined.

This bill effectively allows the advertising industry to self-regulate within the bounds of already established consumer privacy recommendations by the DAA. The doomsday scenacios haven’t come to pass.

BlueKai CEO Omar Tawakol said the bill is mostly a positive for the industry, although he cautioned legislation goes through many permutations along the long process of becoming law.

Another good sign for the industry: the bill sparked outrage from consumer activist organizations, such as Consumer Watchdog and The Center for Digital Democracy, which have stated that the bill offers no true protection from tracking and removes the FTC from its traditional role in policing consumer privacy issues.

https://digiday.com/?p=5691

Digiday Top Stories

Member Exclusive
Media Briefing: Publisher execs fear lack of visibility for Q3, but feel steady year over year
Publisher execs share how Q2 shook out for their businesses as they brace for an equally murky second half.
Member Exclusive
Digiday+ Research: Nearly two-thirds of publishers think they will lose when the third-party cookie dies
Publishers have been busy prepping for the end of the third-party cookie, but that doesn't mean they think they'll come out on top in the post-cookie era. In fact, publishers count themselves among those who stand to lose from the end of the cookie.
Generative AI
As AI spreads across the marketing landscape, data’s role will be key to success or danger
There’s a growing awareness of the risks inherent in AI's ultra-powerful potential, but whether enough steps are being taken to mitigate them remains a huge question mark.
Sponsored
What the measurement and currency discussion really means to TV advertisers
Ali Mack, head of TV and agency, Experian Major streaming video providers have recently made headlines by adopting new currencies for ad measurement, threatening Nielsen’s long-standing TV ratings monopoly. NBCUniversal, for example, has certified iSpot and VideoAmp as currencies for advanced audiences and formed the Joint Industry Committee with Paramount, TelevisaUnivision and Warner Bros. Discovery. […]
Audio Anywhere
Spotify cancels six true crime podcasts amid layoffs, Gimlet-Parcast merger
Spotify is canceling six shows and laying off 200 people as it merges its Gimlet and Parcast units to push its podcast business towards profitability.
Life Beyond the Cookie
‘Not the future’: European publishers remain steadfast in blocking alternative IDs to third-party cookies
Some European publishers believe alternatives to the third-party cookies, probabilistic or deterministic, will do more harm than good to their ads businesses.