Microsoft Won't Be Able to Turn On Do Not Track by Default in IE10

A few days ago, Microsoft announced that it plans to enable Do Not Track by default in Internet Explorer 10. It made an illogical argument that Microsoft making the decision on behalf of the users was somehow about giving users more control, but the main drive was to prop up Microsoft as the privacy-conscious company (as opposed to Google probably.) Which, even if you don't agree to it, is a fair strategy.

Unfortunately for Microsoft, its decision has been quickly neutralized. The latest draft specs for Do Not Track specify that users must explicitly make the decision for the "contract" to be valid.

Do Not Track is based on trust, which is probably a good thing. Browser makers and users trust that advertisers won't actually track them if they request it, and advertisers trust that the user made an informed decision when choosing to allow tracking or not.

Do Not Track is by no means obligatory, which means that either party can do as it pleases. But for one company, either advertisers or browser makers to be able to claim that they adhere to the Do Not Track standard, they have to have a standard implementation.

And the new standard implementation mandates user choice. As such, if Microsoft went ahead and enabled Do Not Track by default in IE10, advertisers would be able to claim that Microsoft does not respect the standard and are such not bound to respecting whatever choice IE10 puts forward as being the users'.

The requirement for the user to make the choice is true for both options; browsers can't send the header saying that users want to be tracked or that they don't want to be tracked unless the users themselves selected either option. If the user hasn't selected anything, then the browser won't send any Do Not Track signal.

Via: Microsoft Won't Be Able to Turn On Do Not Track by Default in IE10