EU Joins Microsoft To Protect Users Privacy
Even though EU and Microsoft aren’t exactly the best friends, it looks like both of them have found a common enemy: users tracking.
Recently, the software giant has informed that the upcoming release of the Internet Explorer 10 will have a “Do Not Track” feature enabled by default, which made advertising agencies unhappy. As a result, W3C has updated the DNT draft and asked web browser makers to disable such feature during the initial software launch.
Now, it looks like the EU has sided with Microsoft as Robert Madelin, European Commission’s digital advisor, issued the following statement:
“It is not the Commission’s understanding that user agents’ factory or default setting
necessarily determine or distort owner choice. The specification need not therefore seek
to determine the factory setting and should not do so, because to intervene on this point
could distort the market.
Crucially, and as a different matter, the standard should foresee that at the install or first
use of the browser the owner should be informed of the importance of their DNT choice,
told of the default setting and prompted or allowed to change that setting.”
How this will affect the currently proposed DNT draft? No one knows yet but the story continues…
[Thanks, User]
[Via ComputerWorld]
About (Author Profile)
Vygantas is a former web designer whose projects are used by companies such as AMD, NVIDIA and departed Westood Studios. Being passionate about software, Vygantas began his journalism career back in 2007 when he founded FavBrowser.com. Having said that, he is also an adrenaline junkie who enjoys good books, fitness activities and Forex trading.
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For me “Do Not Track” should be enabled by default. I don’t want anyone to track me unless I want. As more advanced feature I want to choose which company can track me and not all. IE is on right direction on this.
Note that this will only work if the site actually honors the request. Few sites currently do, and the effect of DNT will have to be evaluated to see if it is a viable solution in the long run. (true for Opera if this true for other browsers; I really think I become a bigger target for the trackers. I will keep it disabled.)
I actually like Opera disabled it by default. Most people use google and FB they are already being tracked unless I am wrong. I do not think DNT will make a bigger difference for them anyway.
I forgot to write, I quoted few lines from here http://my.opera.com/desktopteam/blog/2012/02/10/core-dnt-mail-themes
There is an entire industry built on spying, tracking people and harassing them with advertises in the name of capitalism and whatsoever. I wouldn’t mind to see it falling apart.
I know it will not happen, but still.