Recently there has been a lot of talk about internet privacy and the Federal Trade Commission's role on this hot topic. One of the FTC's most controversial ideas is the ability for individuals to choose whether they want to be monitored while surfing the internet. The idea is simple: have a "do not track" button on internet browsers that if pressed, allows individuals to chose to be excluded from any information collecting being done by advertising and marketing companies for the purpose of targeted advertising.
Sounds easy right? Just one click and you no longer have to worry about your online privacy. I mean, doesn't everybody want their privacy? Even more, expect their right to privacy -- especially when using their own personal computers? The answer is, of course, YES. But how much are you willing to pay for your right to online privacy? Nothing is ever as easy as just one click...
Mechanisms such as the "do not track" button, if implemented and widely used by individuals, could directly affect the numerous online marketing and advertising companies (especially smaller companies) that use such information gathered to generate billions of dollars worth of business geared toward personalized or targeted advertising. Check out this article recently published in the NY Times which talks about the potential for the online advertising industry to suffer "significant economic harm" if these tactics are imposed. What does this potential blow to online advertising companies mean to the everyday consumer? It could mean paying for the information on websites that used to be free. Advertising is essentially the reason why most content on the web is free today. Tailored ads are worth much more in value than generic ads, and without revenue coming in from such ads, web site publishers may have to start charging for their internet content.
So, while I would enjoy the right to complete online privacy and do worry about companies crossing the line on privacy rights for their data collection, I would rather the world know which shoes I was recently browsing online for -- for free I might add -- than to have to pay for access to every site that I wish to visit.
