privacy w3c draft

832019 Privacy w3c Draft

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W3C privacy workgroup issues first draft of Do Not Track standardByRyan Paul | Published 2 days ago

W3C has published the first draft of a new Web standard that addresses online privacy It establishes an official

specification for the mechanism that browsers use to broadcast the ldquoDo Not Trackrdquo (DNT) privacy preference to

websites The draft was authored by a new W3C Tracking Protection Working Group and could be ratified as

an official standard by the middle of next year

Mozilla originally introduced the DNT setting in Firefox 4 earlier this year The feature consists of a simple

HTTP header flag that can be toggled through the browserrsquos preference dialog The flag tells website operators

and advertisers that the user wants to opt out of invasive tracking and other similar practices that have become

pervasive with the rise of behavioral advertising

Of course the mechanism just indicates a preference and doesnrsquot actively block tracking activity The success

and efficacy of the DNT header is predicated on voluntary compliance from the Internet advertisers that will have

to take steps to implement support for the feature

Although getting advertisers on board will take some effort itrsquos not an insurmountable obstacle The

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mainstream behavioral advertising industry happens to have a decent track record on self-regulation and

respecting opt-out initiatives Their desire to avoid government intervention has led major behavioral advertising

companies to stay honest

There are a number of existing opt-out mechanisms that are already widely supported by advertisers For

example the Network Advertising Initiative which is backed by major Internet advertising companies offers a

simple Web-based tool that helps users configure opt-out cookies The problem with the cookie-based

approach however is impermanence If the user clears their browser cookies their opt-out preference is lost

Mozilla came up with the DNT header and proposed it as a more practical long-term alternative to the cookie

approach The idea generated a lot of discussion but didnrsquot initially attract the support of advertisers Mozilla

decided to roll the DNT feature out in the major Firefox 4 releasemdasheven though it wouldnrsquot do anything yet due

to lack of advertiser support-with the hope that the move would encourage adoption

It didnrsquot take long for Mozillarsquos gamble to pay off At least one major advertiser was already on board by the

time that Firefox 4 reached consumers Shortly after the release other major advertisers began to take it

seriously and considered implementing support Microsoft and Apple also decided to back the feature

Defining an official DNT standard seems like another really good step to help encourage broader support for the

feature among advertisers The spec will ideally provide clear and consistent guidance on how DNT support

should be implemented in both servers and browsers

The spec goes beyond merely defining how the header should be transmitted It aims to address a lot of other

issues such as defining a standardized well-known URI where servers can issue responses to indicate

whether they respect the DNT header The draft is still at an early stage of development however and has

many placeholders for sections that still have to be finished

There are 15 companies and organizations collaborating on the draft through the W3C working group Theseinclude all of the major browser vendors several major Web companies (including Facebook) and advocacy

groups like Consumer Watchdog and the Electronic Frontier Foundation The US Federal Trade Commission

(FTC) which has previously expressed interest in seeing broad DNT support is also listed as a member of the

working group

The DNT standardization effort seems like a constructive undertaking that is on the right track The draft of the

DNT specification and the DNT compliance specification are both available from the W3C website

Photograph by Alan Cleaver

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12Like 4 94 ShareEmail

mainstream behavioral advertising industry happens to have a decent track record on self-regulation and

respecting opt-out initiatives Their desire to avoid government intervention has led major behavioral advertising

companies to stay honest

There are a number of existing opt-out mechanisms that are already widely supported by advertisers For

example the Network Advertising Initiative which is backed by major Internet advertising companies offers a

simple Web-based tool that helps users configure opt-out cookies The problem with the cookie-based

approach however is impermanence If the user clears their browser cookies their opt-out preference is lost

Mozilla came up with the DNT header and proposed it as a more practical long-term alternative to the cookie

approach The idea generated a lot of discussion but didnrsquot initially attract the support of advertisers Mozilla

decided to roll the DNT feature out in the major Firefox 4 releasemdasheven though it wouldnrsquot do anything yet due

to lack of advertiser support-with the hope that the move would encourage adoption

It didnrsquot take long for Mozillarsquos gamble to pay off At least one major advertiser was already on board by the

time that Firefox 4 reached consumers Shortly after the release other major advertisers began to take it

seriously and considered implementing support Microsoft and Apple also decided to back the feature

Defining an official DNT standard seems like another really good step to help encourage broader support for the

feature among advertisers The spec will ideally provide clear and consistent guidance on how DNT support

should be implemented in both servers and browsers

The spec goes beyond merely defining how the header should be transmitted It aims to address a lot of other

issues such as defining a standardized well-known URI where servers can issue responses to indicate

whether they respect the DNT header The draft is still at an early stage of development however and has

many placeholders for sections that still have to be finished

There are 15 companies and organizations collaborating on the draft through the W3C working group Theseinclude all of the major browser vendors several major Web companies (including Facebook) and advocacy

groups like Consumer Watchdog and the Electronic Frontier Foundation The US Federal Trade Commission

(FTC) which has previously expressed interest in seeing broad DNT support is also listed as a member of the

working group

The DNT standardization effort seems like a constructive undertaking that is on the right track The draft of the

DNT specification and the DNT compliance specification are both available from the W3C website

Photograph by Alan Cleaver

2 days shows demand for single-player gaming

Register of Copyrights without SOPAcopyright will ultimately fail

Ars Technica on Facebook

Like 55068

Sign Up Create an account or log in to see what

your friends are doing

At Web censor ship hearing Congress

guns for pro-pirate Google


PC Skyrim is a frustrating

messamp 8212and will soon be the best

version


Clickjack a ttack s plaguing Facebook with

4chan-like porn violence imagery


The 40th birthday

ofampmdashmaybeamp mdashthe first

microprocessor the Intel 4004


Facebook social plugin

Disable Facebook on Ars

DONT MISS PROMOS amp INSIGHT

JobArs looking for a new job

Contract PHP Programmer at BioWareAustin TX

PHP Programmer at Perfect WorldEntertainmentFoster City CA

Software Engineer at Humble Bundle IncSan Francisco

Game Programmer at Wandake StudiosStamford CT

Android UI Engineer at Mutual MobileAustin TX

Solutions Architect at HUGEIncBrooklyn NY

Freelance Android Developer at HUGEInc

Click here to view the 18 comments on this story

ShareShare 25

Read more stories

Recommend this | Recommended by 1 person

lt Older Story | Newer Story gt

RIAA wants ReDigiout of the businessof selling used iTunes tracks

Private browsing itsnot so private

Google releases Android 4 sourcecode but trueopenness stillelusive

Famous Hollywood-backed free speechlawyer says SOPAis A-OK

Amazons cloud isthe worlds 42ndfastestsupercomputer

Promo Consumerization of IT Arsexplores mobility social media andrapid development cycles




MOREJOB LISTINGS

Brooklyn NY













Ad Choices

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MOREJOB LISTINGS

Brooklyn NY













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