[LINK] Fwd: IE9 and tracking

[Roger Clarke]

MS "look[s] forward to receiving input and feedback from all 
parties", so what better places to post the request than the privacy 
and link lists?


From: Sassoon Grigorian <sassoong at microsoft.com>
To: "roger.clarke at anu.edu.au" <roger.clarke at anu.edu.au>
Subject: IE9 and tracking
Date: Thu, 9 Dec 2010 05:35:58 +0000

Dear Professor Clarke

Microsoft has a long-held belief that people should have choice and 
control in how their personal information is used on the internet and 
we have announced further privacy enhancements to our Internet 
Explorer browser when the new version is released in the New Year.

Today, websites increasingly pull content in from multiple sources. 
Users are often not aware that they can be tracked across the web by 
third parties through content on the pages.  This content can be 
things other than traditional "cookies" used on sites; it may be 
content that is from third-party sites and that is not even visible 
on the web page to the user.  This is inherent in the design of the 
web and simply how the web works, and it has potentially unintended 
consequences.  As consumers visit one site, many other sites receive 
information about their activities and this has given gives rise to 
privacy concerns.  By limiting data requests to these sites, it is 
possible to limit the data available to these sites for collection 
and enhance privacy for users.

In response, Microsoft has announced a new functionality, named 
"Tracking Protection," that will be built into Internet Explorer 9 
(IE9) and will help limit the potential for Internet tracking for 
users who choose to enable it. IE9's privacy settings, like those 
contained in IE8, will not be on by default, but they will allow 
users to create lists of sites they wish to share information with, 
as well as sites they do not wish to share information with.  The 
settings do not take a position on managing information; instead, 
they provide an improved platform for consumers to exercise choice.

By designing these sorts of enhancements with privacy in mind at the 
design phase, we're able to the deliver a functionality that provides 
consumers additional levels of control over what they want to engage 
in and how they choose to do so. A key change is more of a 
"platform," one where consumers make choices based on trust with web 
sites they engage in.

We look forward to receiving input and feedback from all parties 
prior to IE9's final release. In the meantime, please visit 
<http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoft_on_the_issues/>http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoft_on_the_issues/ 
for more information on Tracking Protection.

Regards
Sassoon

Sassoon Grigorian, Manager, Government Affairs, Legal and Corporate 
Affairs, Microsoft Australia
1 Epping Rd, North Ryde, NSW, 2113, Australia
Tel: +612 9870 2623
Fax: +612 9870 2429
Mobile: +61 425312408
<http://blogs.msdn.com/govtech>http://blogs.msdn.com/govtech
<http://twitter.com/msgovtech>http://twitter.com/msgovtech
<http://www.microsoft.com/australia/corporateaffairs>www.microsoft.com/australia/corporateaffairs


-- 
Roger Clarke                                 http://www.rogerclarke.com/
			            
Xamax Consultancy Pty Ltd      78 Sidaway St, Chapman ACT 2611 AUSTRALIA
                    Tel: +61 2 6288 1472, and 6288 6916
mailto:Roger.Clarke at xamax.com.au                http://www.xamax.com.au/

Visiting Professor in the Cyberspace Law & Policy Centre      Uni of NSW
Visiting Professor in Computer Science    Australian National University