[Infowarrior] - White House Confronts Cookies

[Richard Forno]

White House Confronts Cookies
By Aliya Sternstein   07/27/09 03:15 pm ET

http://techinsider.nextgov.com/2009/07/white_house_formally_confronts.php

The White House may lift its policy barring federal Web sites from  
tracking users' online behavior. A Federal Register notice published  
on Monday seeks public comment on revisions to an existing ban on  
persistent cookies -- common software programs that commercial sites  
deposit on a visitor's computer to collect usage information.

The 2000 cookie policy issued by the Office of Management and Budget  
was intended to protect citizen privacy but has sparked criticism --  
even from White House officials -- for hampering citizen outreach.

"The goal of this review is for the federal government to continue to  
protect the privacy of people who visit federal government Web sites  
while at the same time making these Web sites more user-friendly,  
providing better customer service, and allowing for enhanced Web  
analytics," the notice states.

The administration is contemplating three levels of tracking. One  
would only track users over a single visit, not return visits. The  
second method would follow users over multiple sessions just to  
analyze Web traffic. The third approach would trace user behavior over  
multiple sessions to remember users' settings and unique preferences  
for "purposes beyond what is needed for Web analytics."

In a May interview with Government Executive, Bev Godwin, the director  
of online resources and interagency development at the White House's  
new media office, said the policy on persistent cookies has hampered  
efforts to engage the public online.

On Friday, she blogged on the White House Web site, "We want to use  
cookies for good, not evil" - and invited the public to comment on  
cookies through various online channels, including the Office of  
Science and Technology Policy blog.

People can comment on the Federal Register notice via the Open  
Government Initiative blog, too.