Do Not Track List For Internet

Of course you've heard of the "Do not call" list aimed at removing people from telemarketing lists. Now privacy groups are looking to found an equivalent list for the web. The idea is that a central registry would be created where users could opt-out of the session-based tracking which is prevalent at all major websites.

The Do Not Track list is modeled after the popular Do Not Call registry maintained by the FTC. Since 2003, telemarketers have been barred from calling numbers submitted to the list, which has about 145 million numbers. "Consumers obviously know the Do Not Call list and have reacted well to it," said Mark Cooper, director of research at the Consumer Federation of America. "As an analogy, it helps socialize an important concern and idea." The FTC does not regulate ad networks' privacy policies, but a group called the Network Advertising Initiative, comprising 11 advertiser members, said the industry polices itself. People can opt out of advertising by downloading a small piece of data known as a cookie

Of course the major internet companies are not on board with this proposal, insisting that they already do enough to protect consumer privacy. This is definitely an idea worth exploring, as anyone who has had their privacy online violated can attest to.