California Urges Websites to Disclose Online Tracking

Every major Internet browser has a feature that lets you tell a website that you don’t want it to collect personal information about you when you visit. And virtually every website ignores those requests. Tracking your online activities -- and using that data to tailor marketing pitches -- is central to how Internet companies make money.

Now California’s attorney general, Kamala Harris, wants every site to tell you -- in clear language -- if and how it is respecting your privacy preferences.

The guidelines, published on Wednesday, are intended to help companies comply with a new state privacy law that went into effect on Jan. 1. That law requires sites to prominently disclose all their privacy practices, including how they respond to “do not track” requests.