James Temple wrote this Monday about the Do Not Track bill :California Senator unveiling “Do Not Track” bill
This morning, Sen. Alan Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, will unveil proposed legislation that would force Internet companies doing business in the state to provide California consumers with a way to opt out of online monitoring.
An array of Internet firms like Google, Yahoo and Microsoft collect data about users’ online behavior to serve up the sort of advertisements they’re most likely to click on. The data generally isn’t connected to actual names, but the practice has nonetheless grown increasingly controversial, as it’s become clear how much information is actually gathered and how much it reveals.
A growing number of legislators and consumer and privacy advocates argue that individuals, at the very least, should have the right to remove themselves from this tracking if they so choose.
Great news! Though the actual tendency is that users are giving away their data for free gifts or benefits. Shortsighted? Maybe, but today can you really manage your private life and business without using any site that requires your data?
