I don’t care what you want. Just do not track me please…

Recently I read a short article on a new policy that Yahoo Inc. is planning to implement. It turns out that Yahoo Inc. is going to introduce a “do not track” feature which users will have an option to turn on (BtoB, March 30, 2012)[i]. This poses a major threat for advertisers as they will not be able to track down the behavior of the Yahoo users shall they not be willing to. 

Information such as website search history, PPC and other activities of the user, which was previously available and marketers used to love using it, will not be disclosed. This new extra feature will be available on all Yahoo websites by the end of this summer. The policy is aligned with the final report that has been commissioned by Federal Trade Commission (FTC, March 26, 2012)[ii] and it deals with information on new rules and regulations on Internet privacy. As a matter of fact, the report emphasizes the importance of implementing the “do not track” option by browsers and sites or they may possibly face federal legislation. This action attempts to give users a choice not to be tracked down. 

Personally I believe that should more users got to know about this new feature it is likely that will start using it immediately. On the other hand, some people do not care about privacy and they will give marketers a scope to keep targeting them with their new products and services that are just of a right fit to their needs. I found this article very interesting. I see that the government and other institutions try to control the flow of data in the Internet. Personally, I believe that if information on users will not be legally available it will be obtained by other users illegally. At the end of a day the data will become more expensive and there will be fewer businesses that will be able to afford it. This may create a number of powerful businesses that will have the resources to manipulate data using it for their advantage. It’s like creating a black market but this time information on users is the good that businesses are after.

Overall, it’s a pretty gloomy scenario but it’s still worth to consider. 

Best regards,

Natalia

References:

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[i] http://www.btobonline.com/article/20120330/SEARCH0202/303309998/yahoo-to-add-do-not-track-feature?utm_source=dailynewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=editorial&utm_campaign=dailyclickthroughs#seenit, BtoB, Yahoo to add do not track feature, March 29, 2012, accessed on 01/04/2012

[ii] http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2012/03/privacyframework.shtm, FTC Issues Final Commission Report on Protecting Consumer Privacy: Agency Calls on Companies to Adopt Best Privacy Practices, accessed on 01/04/2012