Internet Explorer 10's Do Not Track default: flouting web standards in the name of privacy
Amid the coverage of the Windows 8 Release Preview, Microsoft has announced that Internet Explorer 10 will be the first web browser to have Do Not Track (DNT) enabled by default. But the change has resulted in resistance from the W3C — the standards body responsible for Do Not Track, and a change to Apache HTTP Server means Microsoft's controversial setting could end up being ignored altogether on the 60 percent of sites it powers worldwide.
Yahoo 'will not recognize' Internet Explorer 10's default Do Not Track setting
Microsoft was warned that its decision to enable Do Not Track (DNT) by default in Windows 8's Internet Explorer 10 would encourage web content providers to ignore the request to keep advertisers from following user's movements around the web, and those predictions are becoming very true. Yahoo has just published its thoughts on the matter, and in the blog post says that it "will not recognize IE10’s default DNT signal on Yahoo! properties at this time." The company cites that the DNT...
Do Not Track: an uncertain future for the web's most ambitious privacy initiative
Following months of relative quiet on the subject of Do Not Track — an HTTP header that tells advertisers and other third parties not to follow you around the internet — the controversial browser signal is being thrust back into the limelight. After the W3C's recent face-to-face meeting in Amsterdam, the the Digital Advertising Alliance plainly said that it "does not require companies to honor DNT," effectively saying it intends to stick to its own self-regulatory approach to user...
Microsoft's default Do Not Track in IE10 gets shot down by Apache co-founder
Microsoft has been warned that its decision to enable Do Not Track (DNT) by default in Internet Explorer 10 for Windows 8 violates the specification of the standard, and that it faces the risk of websites simply ignoring its setting. Now, the warnings are coming to fruition, with a recent commit to the code base for the Apache webserver that deals with the IE10 setting by simply overwriting it, reports Wired. The patch is part of the most recent stable version of Apache, the open source...
Apps & Software
Microsoft persists with Do Not Track default in IE10, builds it into Windows 8 setup
The last we heard about Microsoft's intention to enable Do Not Track flags in Internet Explorer 10 by default, the W3C, the authority behind the entire DNT spec, was advising the Redmond company to make it a user option rather than a preset. This was mostly down to the fear that many websites may choose to disregard Do Not Track instructions from a browser that is automatically set to send them out — web content providers are more willing to respect user preferences when a user performs...
Web & Social
IE 10 must let users decide whether to turn Do Not Track on or not, says latest DNT draft spec
Microsoft's plans to enable Do Not Track flags in Internet Explorer 10 by default have taken a setback this week as the latest draft of the DNT specification explicitly states that the user must be given the choice. You might recall that the original W3C proposal for Do Not Track was actually titled "Tracking Preference Expression," and this latest revision to its wording is reflecting the importance placed on those words — the sending of Do Not Track signals to websites from your browser...
Internet Explorer 10 first browser to have Do Not Track as default
Amid the coverage of the Windows 8 Release Preview, Microsoft has announced that Internet Explorer 10 will be the first web browser to have Do Not Track (DNT) enabled by default. DNT is currently available as an option in most browsers that allows users to opt out of behavioral tracking, but it is not yet universally heeded by advertisers. Even though groups like the Digital Advertising Alliance are displeased about the announcement, Microsoft's Chief Privacy Officer Brendon Lynch...
