Why Google Hasn't Implemented A ‘Do Not Track’ Feature

Three of the four main browser companies -- Mozilla, Microsoft, and Apple -- either have or will soon have in their browsers a Do Not Track “HTTP header” -- a persistent electronic signal -- that tells advertisers and publishers when users don’t want to be tracked online. The DNT signal doesn't really do much at this point, but Google still looks increasingly like the holdout. On May 20, chief privacy officers at Google and Yahoo explained why implementing “Do Not Track” isn't as simple as it sounds.

Asked at the pii2011 conference why the company couldn't comply with what is quickly becoming “the industry standard” when it comes to Do Not Track, Google’s chief privacy lawyer, Keith Enright, responded that the definition of tracking just isn't that clear. “What is the industry standard? I understand there is work around a header, and we are looking at ways to incorporate that across various parts of our business. But I don’t know what a Do Not Track header is -- I don’t know what that means. There is certain information we need to maintain in a [web browsing] session. We need more granularity and a more reasonable understanding of what it means to honor [Do Not Track] in a meaningful way.”