Careful where you click. Advertisers are watching your every move. Unless you’re using Microsofts’s latest version of its Web browser, Internet Explorer 10. In a move that has angered the digital advertising industry, IE 10 comes with “do not track” as the default preference.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Stu Ingis, general counsel of Digital Advertising Alliance, called Microsoft’s move a “unilateral” decision that “raises a lot of concern.” He said that the industry supports “consumer choice, not a choice made by one browser or technology vendor.”
That sounds good coming off a lawyer’s tongue, but the reality is many people using a Web browser do not fully grasp the meaning of “do not follow,” nor do they spend time customizing their settings.
Microsoft’s Chief Privacy Officer, Brendan Lynch, says the company made the decision because users should “make a conscious choice to share information in order to receive more personalized ad content.” In a word, yes.
Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), co-chair of the Bi-Partisan Congressional Privacy Caucus said he hopes “Microsoft and other companies will go further in the future, so that Do Not Track also means “Do Not Collect”, giving consumers the ability to say no to both targeted advertising and collection of their personal data.”
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