Microsoft, the privacy force

[George at Orwellian.Org]

http://www.nytimes.com/cnet/CNET_0-1005-200-6285910.html
#    
#    June 15, 2001
#    
#    IE 6 beta pushes ad networks on privacy
#    
#    By STEFANIE OLSEN, CNET NEWS.COM
#    
#    As Microsoft puts the finishing touches on an upgrade to its 
#    popular browser, Internet advertising companies are racing to 
#    ensure that their ads and cookies are compatible with it.
#    
#    Internet Explorer 6, scheduled to be released in August, will 
#    be the first browser to support a new privacy standard called 
#    Platform Privacy Preferences, or P3P.
#    
#    With P3P, Web surfers can configure their browsers to 
#    automatically determine whether a Web site collects personally 
#    identifiable information, uses that information to create user 
#    profiles, or allows visitors to opt out of the data collection.
#    
#    Ad networks also must post privacy policies that can be read 
#    by the browser. Sites and ads that are not compliant with the 
#    standards being included in IE 6 may not be able to place cookies 
#    on PC users' hard drives.
#    
#    "In order for ad networks to continue to set cookies on people's 
#    computers, they'll have to create a P3P privacy policy--many 
#    haven't done that yet," said Richard Smith, chief technology 
#    officer at the Privacy Foundation, a Denver-based watchdog group 
#    and research foundation. Smith said that by his count, about 
#    50 to 100 marketers and ad networks set third-party cookies, 
#    many of which could be blocked by users of IE 6.
#    
#    "All those guys are going to have to hustle to get a P3P privacy 
#    policy in place or their cookies won't work," Smith said.
#    
#    The issue recently came to light when some of the 500,000 beta 
#    testers of Windows XP noticed that some ads were not being 
#    displayed while surfing the Web. Windows XP, an upgrade to the 
#    Windows operating system that will be released in October, 
#    includes IE 6.
#    
#    Because cookies are an important component of online advertising, 
#    leading ad networks such as DoubleClick and Engage are working 
#    to ensure compatibility with IE 6.
#    
#    DoubleClick, for example, uses cookies to create anonymous 
#    profiles on consumers who visit specific sites or content areas, 
#    such as sports pages or financial sites. With this information, 
#    the company might target a Nike ad to a consumer surfing a retail 
#    site who regularly visits sports Web sites.
#    
#    Engage, which serves ads for about 3,400 Web sites, is installing 
#    headers so that the browser will be able to read Engage cookies. 
#    Complying with P3P is a "fairly significant expenditure of a 
#    couple of people's time but it's not overly burdensome," said 
#    Engage spokesman Mark Horan.
#    
#    "Our site will be P3P-compliant within the next three weeks," 
#    he added. "Much more important, our cookies will be P3P-compliant 
#    before IE 6 launches this fall."
#    
#    Jules Polonetsky, DoubleClick's privacy chief, said his company 
#    also will have its privacy policy and cookie headers ready before 
#    the launch of IE 6.
#    
#    Meanwhile, the default privacy controls for IE 6 could spell 
#    trouble for some companies that are late in meeting P3P 
#    compliance.
#    
#    The default setting in IE 6 allows a "first-party" cookie to 
#    be set, meaning that if a person visits Yahoo the browser will 
#    accept a cookie from Yahoo.
#    
#    However, "third-party" cookies--most often set by marketers or 
#    ad networks to track consumer response to promotions--will be 
#    allowed through IE 6 default settings only if the third party 
#    allows consumers to opt out of data-collection practices. If 
#    the company doesn't give consumers an option, the cookie will 
#    be blocked.
#    
#    DoubleClick's Polonetsky noted the company does not collect 
#    personally identifiable information with its cookies and does 
#    offer consumers an opt out, so its cookies will be accepted under 
#    IE 6 default settings.
#    
#    "This is a great step for protecting consumers' privacy on the 
#    Web," said Rick Miller, a Microsoft spokesman. "Consumers will 
#    be able to control what personal information they give out to 
#    marketers."
#    
#    DoubleClick's Polonetsky, who helped to develop the P3P standard, 
#    said that although his company will be prepared for the new 
#    settings, many online companies may run into trouble come August.
#    
#    "Here's the surprise: Many Web sites, especially complicated 
#    ones with third-party content provided by their affiliates, may 
#    discover that they are third parties on their own sites," 
#    Polonetsky said. This would create a situation where their cookies 
#    would not be accepted on their own properties.
#    
#    However, Smith said that this will not likely be a problem for 
#    many sites because they work fine without cookies, which makes 
#    targeting ads more difficult but not impossible.