<s>
Do	B-Application
Not	I-Application
Track	I-Application
legislation	I-Application
protects	O
Internet	O
users	O
 '	O
right	O
to	O
choose	O
whether	O
or	O
not	O
they	O
want	O
to	O
be	O
tracked	B-Application
by	O
third-party	O
websites	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Do	B-Protocol
Not	I-Protocol
Track	I-Protocol
(	O
DNT	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
formerly	O
official	O
HTTP	O
header	O
field	O
,	O
designed	O
to	O
allow	O
internet	O
users	O
to	O
opt-out	B-Protocol
of	O
tracking	O
by	O
websites	O
—	O
which	O
includes	O
the	O
collection	O
of	O
data	O
regarding	O
a	O
user	O
's	O
activity	O
across	O
multiple	O
distinct	O
contexts	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
retention	O
,	O
use	O
,	O
or	O
sharing	O
of	O
that	O
data	O
outside	O
its	O
context	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Efforts	O
to	O
standardize	O
Do	B-Protocol
Not	I-Protocol
Track	I-Protocol
by	O
the	O
World	O
Wide	O
Web	O
Consortium	O
did	O
not	O
reach	O
their	O
goal	O
and	O
ended	O
in	O
September	O
2018	O
due	O
to	O
insufficient	O
deployment	O
and	O
support	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
Internet	B-Protocol
technology	I-Protocol
,	O
a	O
large	O
number	O
of	O
people	O
,	O
business	O
entities	O
and	O
organizations	O
heavily	O
interact	O
with	O
each	O
other	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
instance	O
,	O
Facebook	B-Application
enables	O
its	O
users	O
to	O
socialize	O
with	O
each	O
other	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
provides	O
e-mail	O
services	O
and	O
entertainment	O
through	O
Gmail	B-Application
and	O
YouTube	B-General_Concept
.	I-General_Concept
</s>
<s>
While	O
this	O
interaction	O
is	O
processed	O
,	O
users	O
leave	O
a	O
trace	O
of	O
their	O
personal	O
information	O
such	O
as	O
IP	B-Protocol
address	I-Protocol
or	O
search	O
history	O
on	O
the	O
internet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
U.S.	O
citizens	O
are	O
aware	O
that	O
their	O
online	O
behaviors	O
are	O
being	O
tracked	B-Application
by	O
advertisers	O
,	O
and	O
they	O
are	O
often	O
opposed	O
to	O
this	O
practice	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
central	O
plank	O
of	O
the	O
bill	O
was	O
to	O
add	O
a	O
do	B-Protocol
not	I-Protocol
track	I-Protocol
opt-out	I-Protocol
function	O
to	O
web	B-Application
browsers	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
issue	O
began	O
to	O
surface	O
again	O
in	O
2012	O
after	O
Google	B-Application
announced	O
its	O
new	O
privacy	O
policy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Representatives	O
Edward	O
Markey	O
,	O
Joe	O
Barton	O
,	O
and	O
Cliff	O
Stearns	O
asked	O
the	O
FTC	O
to	O
investigate	O
the	O
legality	O
of	O
Google	B-Application
’s	O
change	O
of	O
privacy	O
policy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
sent	O
a	O
letter	O
to	O
the	O
FTC	O
regarding	O
Google	B-Application
’s	O
changed	O
privacy	O
policy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
bill	O
updates	O
previous	O
efforts	O
to	O
create	O
Do	B-Protocol
Not	I-Protocol
Track	I-Protocol
programs	O
by	O
applying	O
the	O
concept	O
beyond	O
web	B-Application
browsers	I-Application
and	O
to	O
all	O
Internet	O
activity	O
,	O
including	O
mobile	B-Application
applications	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Do	B-Protocol
Not	I-Protocol
Track	I-Protocol
Me	O
Online	O
Act	O
of	O
2011	O
attempted	O
to	O
make	O
the	O
FTC	O
set	O
the	O
standards	O
for	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
an	O
online	O
opt-out	B-Protocol
function	I-Protocol
in	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
,	O
which	O
allows	O
a	O
consumer	O
to	O
forbid	O
the	O
collection	O
or	O
use	O
of	O
private	O
information	O
and	O
to	O
demand	O
a	O
business	O
entity	O
to	O
comply	O
with	O
the	O
choice	O
of	O
a	O
consumer	O
to	O
opt	O
out	O
of	O
such	O
collection	O
or	O
use	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
the	O
Do	B-Protocol
Not	I-Protocol
Track	I-Protocol
Me	O
Online	O
Act	O
of	O
2011	O
,	O
personal	O
information	O
includes	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
state	O
's	O
Assembly	O
and	O
Senate	O
approved	O
the	O
bill	O
(	O
AB	O
370	O
)	O
that	O
requires	O
commercial	O
websites	O
and	O
online	O
services	O
to	O
disclose	O
how	O
they	O
respond	O
to	O
an	O
Internet	B-Application
browser	I-Application
's	O
"	O
do	B-Protocol
not	I-Protocol
track	I-Protocol
"	O
signals	O
and	O
whether	O
and	O
how	O
third	O
parties	O
collect	O
personally	O
identifiable	O
information	O
from	O
consumers	O
who	O
visit	O
those	O
sites	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Websites	O
are	O
also	O
required	O
to	O
provide	O
consumers	O
with	O
the	O
"	O
opt-out	B-Protocol
"	O
option	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Once	O
the	O
customer	O
makes	O
a	O
decision	O
,	O
websites	O
cannot	O
ask	O
him/her	O
to	O
change	O
the	O
opt-out	B-Protocol
status	O
until	O
at	O
least	O
a	O
year	O
after	O
the	O
customers’	O
choice	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Representative	O
Edward	O
Markey	O
introduced	O
a	O
bill	O
called	O
the	O
"	O
Do	B-Protocol
Not	I-Protocol
Track	I-Protocol
Kids	O
Act	O
of	O
2011	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
goal	O
of	O
the	O
"	O
Do	B-Protocol
Not	I-Protocol
Track	I-Protocol
Kids	O
Act	O
of	O
2011	O
"	O
is	O
to	O
strengthen	O
privacy	O
protection	O
for	O
children	O
by	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
response	O
,	O
The	O
Internet	O
companies	O
such	O
as	O
Mozilla	B-Operating_System
,	O
Google	B-Application
,	O
Microsoft	O
,	O
Yahoo	O
!,	O
and	O
AOL	O
promised	O
to	O
provide	O
a	O
"	O
do	B-Protocol
not	I-Protocol
track	I-Protocol
"	O
mechanism	O
so	O
that	O
customers	O
can	O
choose	O
whether	O
they	O
want	O
to	O
participate	O
in	O
online	O
behavioral	O
advertising	O
or	O
not	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
,	O
the	O
FTC	O
discussed	O
the	O
Do	B-Protocol
Not	I-Protocol
Track	I-Protocol
mechanism	O
and	O
recommended	O
browser	B-Application
vendors	O
to	O
enable	O
users	O
to	O
control	O
the	O
level	O
of	O
personal	O
information	O
tracking	O
by	O
adopting	O
an	O
opt-out	B-Protocol
function	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Digital	O
Advertising	O
Alliance	O
agreed	O
with	O
the	O
FTC	O
proposal	O
,	O
and	O
it	O
is	O
planning	O
to	O
adopt	O
the	O
opt-out	B-Protocol
function	I-Protocol
within	O
2012	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
FTC	O
also	O
recommends	O
mobile	B-Application
application	I-Application
companies	O
to	O
come	O
up	O
with	O
simple	O
,	O
effective	O
,	O
and	O
approachable	O
privacy	O
protection	O
measures	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
arguments	O
against	O
Do	B-Protocol
Not	I-Protocol
Track	I-Protocol
proposals	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Service	O
providers	O
such	O
as	O
Google	B-Application
collect	O
personal	O
information	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
provide	O
higher-quality	O
service	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Among	O
the	O
major	O
Internet	B-Application
browsers	I-Application
and	O
search	O
engines	O
,	O
the	O
Do	B-Application
Not	I-Application
Track	I-Application
policy	I-Application
has	O
been	O
quite	O
controversial	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
instance	O
,	O
Google	B-Application
’s	O
contentious	O
change	O
to	O
its	O
privacy	O
settings	O
in	O
2012	O
,	O
raised	O
questions	O
of	O
how	O
companies	O
would	O
interpret	O
and	O
implement	O
the	O
Do	B-Application
Not	I-Application
Track	I-Application
policy	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
in	O
2012	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
implemented	O
a	O
Do	B-Protocol
Not	I-Protocol
Track	I-Protocol
option	O
into	O
its	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
10	I-Application
browser	B-Application
as	O
its	O
default	O
setting	O
,	O
which	O
has	O
instigated	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
public	O
comments	O
and	O
critique	O
from	O
major	O
companies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sarah	O
Downey	O
,	O
from	O
Abine	O
Inc.	O
,	O
commented	O
on	O
Fox	O
Business	O
Network	O
that	O
even	O
if	O
you	O
opt-in	O
on	O
the	O
Do	B-Protocol
Not	I-Protocol
Track	I-Protocol
option	O
,	O
advertisers	O
can	O
still	O
collect	O
your	O
data	O
and	O
track	O
your	O
behavior	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Abine	O
Inc	O
.	O
created	O
a	O
Do	B-Protocol
Not	I-Protocol
Track	I-Protocol
Plus	O
add-on	B-Protocol
that	O
claims	O
to	O
completely	O
block	O
tracking	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Downey	O
continues	O
to	O
state	O
that	O
the	O
in-browser	O
Do	B-Protocol
Not	I-Protocol
Track	I-Protocol
option	O
is	O
a	O
more	O
of	O
a	O
"	O
voluntary	O
message	O
"	O
or	O
a	O
"	O
request	O
,	O
not	O
an	O
obligation	O
"	O
to	O
the	O
advertisers	O
not	O
to	O
track	O
you	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Furthermore	O
,	O
the	O
Digital	O
Advertising	O
Alliance	O
stated	O
,	O
earlier	O
this	O
year	O
at	O
an	O
industry	O
consortium	O
,	O
that	O
the	O
Do	B-Protocol
Not	I-Protocol
Track	I-Protocol
option	O
should	O
be	O
a	O
“	O
choice	O
actively	O
made	O
by	O
an	O
individual	O
consumer	O
”	O
,	O
in	O
which	O
Microsoft	O
’s	O
new	O
software	O
denies	O
consumers	O
that	O
choice	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
Yahoo	B-Application
!	I-Application
</s>
<s>
Executives	O
from	O
Dell	O
,	O
IBM	O
,	O
Intel	O
,	O
Visa	O
,	O
Verizon	B-Application
,	O
Walmart	O
,	O
and	O
Yahoo	O
!,	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
initial	O
supporters	O
of	O
the	O
Do	B-Application
Not	I-Application
Track	I-Application
policy	I-Application
,	O
argue	O
that	O
Microsoft	O
should	O
"	O
realign	O
with	O
the	O
broader	O
business	O
community	O
by	O
providing	O
choice	O
through	O
a	O
default	O
of	O
'	O
off	O
 '	O
on	O
your	O
browser	B-Application
's	O
'	O
do	B-Protocol
not	I-Protocol
track	I-Protocol
 '	O
setting	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
