A Posterboy for Advertising’s Pro-Consumer Quid Pro Quo | The Technology Liberation Front

I enjoy reading the Tech Liberation Front blog, even though I am far less sure that the “privacy” free market is working as well as the TLF bloggers contend.  But the writers are often witty, sharp and entertaining and are deeply immersed in privacy issues.  It has been nice getting to know Berin Szoka, TLF blogger and Progress and Freedom Foundation fellow, and I look forward to some spirited sparring with him at next weeks Capitol Hill PFF event Regulating Online Advertising.

Berin recently blogged about a favorite DC yogurt shop, Mr Yogato’s,  which gives patrons a discount if they allow a promotional “stamp” on their foreheads.  He  makes the point that there is “no free lunch” and that online the trade consumers make for free content is that they are shown advertising.

Berin is correct, of course, there is no free lunch.  Online, data supported advertising is part of the trade-off for free content.  But to use the Mr Yogato analogy, here is what is happening online – consumers are having a cookie ID number quietly stamped on the back on their necks, aren’t told about any discount for their yogurt purchase, and then policymakers are told that all is fair because yogurt shops would go out of business if they couldn’t earn revenue by tracking or marketing to users in this manner.

I think much of the consumer  and legislative concern about tracking would dissipate if more online companies would be as upfront with their customers as Mr. Yogato is with his.  Some of us are happy to have our forehead stamped, some prefer to answer trivia questions and others will pay full fare.

Would you allow your forehead to be stamped in return for a discount? My wife says she would, but I am still thinking about it.

Before you click

Where does your data go … before you even click

How To Filter Out Facebook "Friends" Without Them Knowing

This is a very useful and humane way to manage your friends on facebook!  Too much noise and missing out on the info from the friends you want to “hear” from”?

How To Filter Out Facebook “Friends” Without Them Knowing.

Privacy Help Wanted

 

 

The Future of Privacy Forum is seeking two legal, policy or technology fellows to join our think tank.  You will be involved with leading edge work at the center of the privacy debates and will work on issues ranging from behavioral advertising and social media issues to the smart grid and identity management.  Small stipend available.  Ideal for a law grad deferring the start of law firm job.  Significant responsibility on day one and a great opportunity to interact with senior figures in academia, government, corporations, advocacy groups and law firms.  We can offer a flexible location and schedule, but need someone ready to meet deadlines and be able to react rapidly to new  issues and opportunities.

Please see fpf.org for more information about us.  Email [email protected] with your resume and a letter of interest to apply.

Targeted Advertising Cookie Opt-Out (TACO) On A Roll

Privacy activist and technologist Chris Soghoian has updated his TACO opt-out plug-in to include 44 additional ad networks.  Users who download TACO  automatically get opt-out cookies from 84 ad networks, cookie tracking companies and others offering an opt-out cookie.  Importantly, this opt-out sticks even if users inadvertently delete opt-out cookies.

Since we well know that setting an ordinary opt-out cookie is a defective option, since so many users loose opt-out cookies to anti-spyware programs (or to their own browser controls), why should any ad network offer an opt-out cookie without also advising users of the need for a plug-in that will help maintain the opt-out?  Google provides one for the opt-out from its ad targeting DoubleClick cookie and the TACO is available at no cost for anyone else.  The Network Advertising Initiative has hinted that it is working on a plug-in for its members and TRUSTe could probably do the same.  We predict that plug-ins will soon be proliferating.

Is this a good thing? It is better than doing nothing.  But it’s time for the browser companies to get on this pronto, so that a special download is not needed.  Give Web sites a way to offer users a privacy choice that the browser can reliably maintain!  Respect user choice!

The Political Ad Practice Insiders Want to Keep Secret – ClickZ

My cookie says I am a moderate Democrat soccer dad who is a “triple prime” voter. (Look it up, if you’re not a political geek like me).  Folks who are paying attention to the privacy issues around behavioral advertising are very focused on ads targeted based on the Web sites you have visited.  But, in fact, more ad dollars are probably spent on appending offline data like the political data discussed here, as well as data from the big data brokers or data about your customer relationships with your bank and stores you frequent.  Any industry self regulatory solutions or legislative proposals should recognize that basic cookie clickstream targeting was state of the art 9 years ago.  The industry has moved far beyond, but the discussions seem frozen in the past and dont seem to consider the far more complicated world of online data use today.  Jeff Chester ‘s blog is a must read for an understanding of how sophisticated and complex some of the online targeting has become.  It is true that some of the folks Jeff documents who are claiming to target ads based on brain waves and eyeball movements are probably full of hot air, but anyone who thinks we are talking about simple anonymous cookies helping choose a Nike ad for the sports site surfer is living in the last decade.

Barking Robot: News Flash: Teens Don't Give a Twit About Twitter

It seems that there is a consensus that teens do not twitter, preferring less public venues such as Facebook status updates and phone texting.  See they do care about privacy – they dont intend to blast their info to complete strangers (followers) but rather just to all their pals or maybe their friends friends.  Detail here:

Derek E. Baird :: Barking Robot: News Flash: Teens Don’t Give a Twit About Twitter.

De-identified data

Some thoughtful points today on de-identified health data from the team at CDT . See CDT | Policy Post 15.11, June 26, 2009.

Dear John Letter

John Squire

Chief Strategy Officer

Coremetrics

Dear John:

Whassup? I read on the privacychoice blog that you take privacy seriously.  That is good to hear.  There is another Jon who like you takes privacy seriously.  He is at the FTC.   I think he might say that if you are helping your clients sell clickstream profile data about what their users do online, you want to require that they let users know about it.   That Jon might consider it deceptive if you were to claim you take privacy seriously, but then continue to help a client sell user data after you were told that they weren’t letting users know about it.   That Jon has many enforcement cases keeping him busy and probably doesn’t have time to read blogs, but he has staff who help him out.  So, please, on behalf of those of us who do believe that companies who do care about privacy can get this right, get on your clients before Jon does.

Readers can follow the exchange between Coremetrics and Jim Brock of Privacychoice.org here.  Be sure to read the exchange in the comments.

From Webtrends: Thoughts on Web 2.0 Cookie Transparency and Control

One analytics company, Webtrends,  speaks up about how the federal government can use cookies.  In a blog post and in a comment at the White House Open Government, site they make some sensible points about transparency and the use of first party domains.  The ideas echo some of the proposals we and CDT have previously made and underscore the opportunity to update the current OMB cookie policy in a progressive manner.