[Infowarrior] - Top admen beg Microsoft to switch off 'Do Not Track' in IE 10

[Richard Forno]

(Cry me a river, folks.  --rick)

Top admen beg Microsoft to switch off 'Do Not Track' in IE 10

Browser 'blocks our adverts choice and competition'

By Gavin Clarke • Get more from this author

Posted in Media, 3rd October 2012 12:01 GMT

Microsoft is in hot water with big-brand advertisers over its implementation of Do-Not-Track by default in the latest iteration of its Internet Explorer browser. The ad-slingers say Internet Explorer 10’s Do-Not-Track feature will hurt advertisers, consumers and competition.

The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) has published an open letter to Microsoft’s chief executive Steve Ballmer, senior vice president and general counsel Brad Smith and chief research and strategy officer Craig Mundie opposing the fact DNT will be turned on by default in Windows 8’s browser.

The letter comes less than a month before Windows 8 is due to be released to the public on new PCs and tablets.

The ANA, of which Microsoft is a member, reckoned DNT-by-default offers the “wrong” choice for consumers by requiring them to "opt in" should they wish data relating to their web surfing habits to be tracked.

For advertisers, IE10 will potentially block their ability to collect data on 43 per cent of netizens in the US using Microsoft’s browser – that statistic is IE’s current market share in the US according to StatCounter.

That data, the ad body argues, fuels economic growth on the internet and supports online services that "define the consumer online experience".

Thirty-nine ANA members have put their names to the letter, including AT&T, Dell, Ford Motor Company, IBM, Intel, Kellogg, Nestle, McDonalds and Wal-Mart.......

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http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/03/ie_10_dnt_default_advertisers_letter/

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Just because i'm near the punchbowl doesn't mean I'm also drinking from it.