On the heel of President Obama ’s recent introduction of a Privacy Bill of Rights , the Digital Advertising Alliance ( DAA ) , the latest ego - regulative organization for on-line advertising , agreed to support widespread execution ofDo Not Track(DNT ) web browser headers . This is a applaudable pace , and in the do month the responsibilities for how websites respond to the sign will be articulated in multistakeholder meetings through the W3C’sTracking Protection Working Group . One conspicuous absence from the Do Not Track discussions is Facebook . As a company that tracks jillion of users around the vane , Facebookneeds to follow in the footstepsof Google , Microsoft , Yahoo ! , and others by commit to respect user selection .
There is no deny Facebook ’s popularity in the online arena . It is systematically ranked in the top five websites natter in the world . In the calendar month of December 2011 alone , exploiter spent more than 9.7 billion minutes per day on Facebook on personal computers , while in the mobile sphere the Facebook app is one of the most downloaded software across the smartphone ecosystem . Facebook is pertinent to translate this popularity into effective publicizing , which is fundamental to its revenue current . Facebook aver as much in its IPO document , where it stated : “ We give substantially all of our revenue from advertizement and payment processing fees . ” Facebook also provided expressed figure . In 2011 , they made $ 3.15 billion of $ 3.71 billion solely from advertizing . In combining with Facebook ’s dominance in social media and its employment with both Facebook and non - Facebook users outside of Facebook.com , Facebook ’s reliance on advert as a major revenue flow is a reason that Facebook should be regard in current W3C discussions about the future of online advertising .
Facebook has a complex human relationship with user - sometimes it acts like a societal internet , but other metre it acts more like an online tracking company . This trailing consider spot without a user ever having to interact with the Facebook “ like ” or “ social plugin ” button : just seeing the “ like ” clit is enough for Facebook to accumulate a disc of your reading habit . It was third party traverse practicessimilar to thisthat inspired the Do Not Track effort . Like other company that pursue in cross - site tracking , Facebook needs to give to abide by the Do Not Track header .
Facebook ’s fundamental interaction with users is further complicated byInstant Personalization , a organisation that countenance non - Facebook internet site to embed synergistic Facebook widgets and conversations . Instant Personalization inherently requires tracking . When an individual has “ instant personalization ” enable in her Facebook options and then set up the Do Not Track header , we recommend that Facebook elucidate whether or not she is agreeing to prefer back in to being tracked while using insistent personalization . This could be done with an interstitial explaining the tracking implicit in to instant personalization and asking her whether , given her preference to not be track , she would still like to see and expend inst personalization thingummy . This type of transparent privacy ascendency can ensure that Facebook user well realise how Facebook pull in information on them . These complication are all reasons for Facebook to further lock in Do Not Track word and the Do Not Track mechanics .
It ’s decipherable that Facebook wants to be a part of the conversation around advertizement and secrecy . According toAdAge , when theCommercial Privacy Bill of Rights Act(PDF ) was introduced last twelvemonth , Facebook place an “ United States Army of attorney ” to Washington to convince Senators Kerry and McCain to carve out exceptions to their privacy handbill so that Facebook could track its exploiter via social widget on other site ( dubbed the“Facebook loophole ” ) . Facebook presently retains two lobbying firms , and it virtually quadruple its buttonhole budget last year to $ 1.35 million . The best Internet policy arises from collaborative elbow grease with users , advocacy groups , and other technology companies - not backroom hatful on Capitol Hill . This is especially lawful when many policymakers and the public are watching online advertiser closely to see if they can improve their poor track criminal record when it comes to self - regulation .
presently , the W3C ’s Tracking Protection Working Group involves stakeholders that include privacy organizations , tracking company , the DAA , and academics to refine what Do Not Track mean and how it is implemented . Facebook ’s prominence in the online advertising world , its reliance on advertizing as a revenue poser , and its activity in Washington make it readable that Facebook should be more involved in the negotiation on advertisers ’ responsibilities to honour Do Not Track .
After a privacy correspondence was reached with the FTC in November 2011 , Mark Zuckerburgwrote : “ I ’m committed to make Facebook the loss leader in transparency and control around concealment . ” Do Not Track is the next step for users to control how they can be tracked and what data can be collected . It ’s time Facebook engage with the expectant Internet residential district and respect the rights of drug user who choose out of tracking .
Republished with permission from the Electronic Frontier Foundation .
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