F.T.C. to Review Online Ads and Privacy

FTC TO REVIEW ONLINE ADS AND PRIVACY
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Louise Story]
The Federal Trade Commission will hold meetings today and tomorrow about online privacy. The questions they will entertain include how much control people need or want over the vast trove of information that corporate America routinely collects about people as they click from site to site on the Internet. In advance of the F.T.C. meetings, a coalition of consumer groups called yesterday for a do-not-track list that would permit people to opt out of so-called behavioral tracking programs, which use data about a consumer’s Web travels to deliver relevant ads. Separately, the AOL division of Time Warner announced that it would enhance its system that lets people remove themselves from tracking databases. Opting out does not reduce the number of ads; instead people would receive generic ones. Most Web tracking is done anonymously, and marketing firms are typically aware only of the sites someone has visited, not their name or address. But as Web tracking technology grows more sophisticated, experts on digital privacy say it is inevitable that marketers will know not only which sites somebody has visited, but also who is doing the Web surfing.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/01/technology/01Privacy.html?ref=todayspaper
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* 'Do Not Track' Registry Proposed for Web Use
Nine groups -- including the Center for Democracy and Technology, the Consumer Federation of America and the World Privacy Forum -- proposed the creation of a Do Not Track list similar to the Do Not Call phone list, allowing people to prevent companies from tracking which Web sites they visit. This proposal comes as large Internet companies are looking to increase the tracking of users' online behavior to tailor ads to their interests. The FTC does not regulate ad networks' privacy policies, but a group called the Network Advertising Initiative, comprising 11 advertiser members, said the industry polices itself. People can opt out of advertising by downloading a small piece of data known as a cookie. Privacy advocates say self-regulation has not been sufficient for several reasons.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/31/AR2007103101000.html
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* Key Privacy Groups Propose Do Not Track List
CDT joined with a coalition of privacy advocates on Wednesday to recommend an ambitious set of proposals intended to give consumers greater control over their personal data and to offset the impact of pervasive behavioral tracking. Included in the recommendations is a call to create a national "Do Not Track List" that would provide consumers with a simple tool for opting out of behavioral tracking. CDT joined with Consumer Action, the Consumer Federation of America, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Privacy Activism, Public Information Research, Privacy Journal, Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, and the World Privacy Forum in crafting the proposal, which is timed to coincide with the start Thursday of a two-day Federal Trade Commission workshop on behavioral targeting.
Consumer Rights and Protections in the Behavioral Advertising Sector: http://www.cdt.org/privacy/20071031consumerprotectionsbehavioral.pdf
Press Release: http://www.cdt.org/press/20071031press.php
Illustration of Do Not Track List: http://www.cdt.org/privacy/20071031donottrack.pdf

* Privacy groups seek 'Do Not Track' list for Web users
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-track1nov01,1,5358231.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-business

* Privacy groups seek "do not track" Web list
http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSN3133606720071031

* Privacy Groups Propose Do-Not-Track List
http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=121643