[projectvrm] W3C vs. adtech

[Doc Searls < >]

In Mediapost: Supercookies, Digital Fingerprinting Undermine Trust In Web, 
W3C Says 
<http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/254275/supercookies-digital-fingerprinting-undermine-tru.html>.

Closing paragraphs:

> The W3C's report comes at a time when the online ad industry appears 
> increasingly interested in using non-cookie technology for tracking. Just 
> two months ago, the self-regulatory group Network Advertising Initiative 
> issued guidance aimed at enabling ad networks to track people with 
> techniques like digital fingerprinting, without violating the group's 
> privacy standards.
> 
> The NAI's recent guidance requires ad companies to disclose their use of 
> “non-cookie technology,” in order to inform consumers that rejecting 
> third-party cookies won't necessarily block tracking and ad targeting. (The 
> NAI's longstanding privacy rules require ad companies to inform consumers 
> about behavioral advertising -- regardless of tracking technology -- and 
> allow them to opt out of receiving ads targeted based on Web activity.)
> 
> The W3C clearly doesn't agree that the self-regulatory group's guidance 
> will go far enough to protect Web users' privacy. Instead, the W3C is 
> calling on browser developers to create tools that potentially could help 
> users defeat fingerprinting efforts.
> 
> The group ends its critique by urging policy makers “to be aware that 
> unsanctioned tracking may introduce privacy, security and consumer 
> protection concerns within their jurisdiction, and to consider appropriate 
> action.”


If we had full individual agency — in other words, elementary VRM — there 
would be no argument here.

Doc