Lawmakers look to save Microsoft's 'Do Not Track' default setting

Reps. Ed Markey (D-MA) and Joe Barton (R-TX) sent a letter to the World Wide Web Consortium, a Web standards organization, calling for the group to back a new privacy feature on Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser.

They argued that a default Do Not Track setting "provides consumers with better control and choice with respect to their personal information." The lawmakers called on the group to make the "protection of consumer privacy a priority and support Microsoft's announcement by endorsing a default Do Not Track setting." They also argued for a broad Do Not Track definition that stops companies from "accumulating, using, sharing, or selling the consumer's personal data." The W3C's Tracking Protection Working Group is meeting in Washington state this week to try to develop a consensus definition of Do Not Track.