In recent days, we’ve learned Facebook is doing away with a privacy setting. How many stories have we heard of people not getting a job or getting fired from a job because they’re employer checked their social media pages? Then there’s the NSA scandals. The online privacy debate has no end in sight.
There’s a group called World Wide Web Consortium.? It consists of advertisers, privacy rights advocates and other Internet experts. They can’t even agree on the Do Not Track controversy.? Advertisers proposed an opt out button. There, people can visit websites without getting target ads so long as they push that button. But privacy advocates claim this won’t stop data collection on people. Ad agencies know the rules are getting tighter as the public outcry gets louder. So they’re coming up with new ways for tracking.
Look, I get it. Advertisers need a way to get their product or service out there. For 20 years, the Internet has been an inexpensive but effective way to do that. But I also understand people want to left alone. And they don’t want to be bombarded by ads because they looked on a previous site. For me, the term ‘site tracking’ has all kinds of negative connotations, especially after last summer’s NSA scandal. But the fact that ad companies and privacy rights groups are trying to figure out a solution is an encouraging sign. It’s more encouraging than the bickering in Washington, DC right now (oops! did I say that aloud?). Is there a solution out there for advertisers that will ensure privacy?