Why "Do Not Track" is Stupid

Thursday, November 1st, 2007 by Andy Beal

Why "Do Not Track" is Stupid

Reuters reports that a group of privacy and consumer organizations have asked the FTC to create a "do not track" list for internet users who want to opt-out of any ad-behavior tracking.

Such a list would function much like the FTC’s "do not call" registry that consumers can join to prevent telemarketing phone calls, according to the groups, which include the Center for Democracy and Technology, Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Consumer Federation of America.

Oh it would, would it? I don’t think so. While it’s easy to remove you telephone number from a telemarketer’s list–your number is always the same–how can that work with the internet? Let’s look at the challenges, shall we?

What exactly would you opt-out? Your IP address? The one you share with thousands of other dial-up users or the one that gets renewed every time your DSL/cable connection drops?
How about cookies? You know, the cookies that are specific to your browser. Oh wait, what happens when you switch browsers? What about if you want to be tracked, but your wife doesn’t? And what about if you you use more than one computer? Perhaps we need a cookie to track who doesn’t want cookies?
Does this mean the search engines will have to change their privacy policies? After all, if I opt out, then Google shouldn’t keep any data on me, right? Yeah, Google’s gonna love that idea.

Those are just a few off the top of my head. While I think the idea is noble, the implementation will likely be a disaster.

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7 comments on “Why "Do Not Track" is Stupid”

Owen Cutajar Says:

November 1st, 2007 at 11:25 am

Thing about the “do not track” campaign is that there is already a solution for people who don’t want to be tracked. Going through a proxy or an “anonymizer” service helps ensure your privacy. Thing is, my experience of people who use these services is that they are less concerned about privacy issues and more about the legality of what they are doing …
Steven Bradley Says:

November 1st, 2007 at 5:59 pm

Andy I agree with you that this isn’t as easy to implement as a ‘do not call’ list, but I still applaud the efforts. Privacy and user tracking are issues for many people and I think it’s good to see someone at least try to form a solution.

It may be flawed, but the effort is still commendable.
codefork.com » Blog Archive » Who, me? The problem with a “do not call” list Says:

November 2nd, 2007 at 12:53 pm

[...] at least one person has already pointed out, the internet doesn’t work like a telephone system. It makes sense to [...]
Zen Says:

November 5th, 2007 at 11:42 am

Ha ha ha, Andy got all defensive!
chipseo | Top 25 Monday Morning Stars of the Week, Nov 5 | Practical eCommerce Marketing Solutions Says:

November 5th, 2007 at 12:23 pm

[...] Why “Do Not Track” is Stupid [...]
Top 25 Monday Morning Stars of the Week, November 5 | a Blog by Scott Fillmer Says:

March 31st, 2008 at 7:14 am

[...] Why “Do Not Track” is Stupid [...]
Top 25 Monday Morning Stars of the Week, November 5 | Auburn Images Photography by Scott Fillmer Says:

September 1st, 2008 at 12:10 pm

[...] Why “Do Not Track” is Stupid [...]

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