At Hillary Clinton for President, we are putting forth every effort to ensure the privacy and security of information that you share with us online. We urge you to take steps also to protect the privacy of your personal information, such as safeguarding your passwords and logging off of the website after submitting personal information. If you have broadband access to the Internet, we strongly advise you to use a firewall.
Our privacy policy explains the information practices we use at HillaryClinton.com:
How we protect your information
How we use your information
How to contact us about privacy
How do we protect your information?
Our website has a number of security measures in place to protect against the loss, misuse or alteration of the information under our control. Our computer systems have restricted access limited only to those persons and organizations necessary to its proper functioning. This access applies to all electronic and physical security measures. Highly sensitive data including credit card information is additionally secured through the use of encryption, such as the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol. Our servers are located in a locked, secure environment.
How do we use the information you provide?
On registration, sign-up and contribution forms on HillaryClinton.com, we may ask for your name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address. We may also ask who, if anyone, referred you to the site so that we can credit those who are organizing volunteer support or fundraising for Hillary Clinton for President.
We will use your e-mail address to provide you news and information about Hillary Clinton for President. We may also use your zip code and state to send you e-mail messages about upcoming campaign events or activities in your area.
On occasion, we may also use the information that you provide online to contact you for other purposes or to solicit you for contributions. When you register or sign-up online, we may share your contact information with successor organizations and other like-minded Democratic candidates and organizations, and they may contact you. When you make a contribution to us, we may also exchange your contributor information with successor organizations and other like-minded Democratic candidates and organizations, and they may solicit you (see below for additional information regarding your contributor information). However, we will not sell or exchange your credit card information to any other third party under any circumstances.
When you contribute money online
We are required by federal law to collect and report to the Federal Election Commission the name, mailing address, occupation and employer of individuals whose contributions exceed $200 in an election cycle. These records are available to the public. However, they cannot be used by other organizations for fundraising. We also make a note of your telephone number and email address, which helps us to contact you quickly if follow-up on your contribution is necessary under Federal election law. For additional information, visit the FEC website at http://www.fec.gov/.
When you sign one of our petitions
When you sign one of our petitions, we treat your name, city, state, and any comments as public information. We may, for example, provide compilations of petitions, with your comments, to national leaders, without disclosing email addresses. We may also make comments available to the press and public online, identifying only your city and state.
When you schedule online events
When you schedule an event and post it on HillaryClinton.com you have the choice of making your event public or semi-public. Public events will display your name and the address of the event to any visitor browsing the system and allow those users to RSVP online. Semi-public events will display your name and the general area that you define (e.g.,"Elm & Main", or "downtown"), but will not display the specific address. Visitors can requests invitations, and only after those requests are approved by you can they see the address.
Cookies
A cookie is a tiny text file that is stored on your computer by HillaryClinton.com. We use cookies to tailor your experience on our site according to the preferences you have specified. When you visit HillaryClinton.com, we only access the cookie file that we have stored on your computer. We cannot and do not access any information stored in a cookie by other websites. Our cookies do not contain any personal identifiable information.
IP Addresses and Log File Data
We log your IP address, which is the location of your computer or network on the Internet, for systems administration and troubleshooting purposes. We also use page hits in the aggregate to track the popularity of pages that people visit in order to improve the quality of the site. There is no personal identifiable information collected in our log files.
Information on Children
Because we care about the safety and privacy of children online, we comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA). COPPA and its accompanying FTC regulations establish United States federal law that protects the privacy of children using the Internet. We do not knowingly contact or collect personal information from children under 13, without express and verifiable parental consent. Our site is not intended to solicit information of any kind from children under 13, and we have designed our sites to block our knowing acceptance of information from children under 13 whenever age-related information is requested.
Parents with questions may e-mail us at support@hillaryclinton.com.
Unsubscribing from Email Communications
If you wish to unsubscribe from our communications, please email us at unsubscribe@hillaryclinton.com. We will regularly process these requests. To comply with federal election law, however, our contributor records will be continuously maintained in a separate secure database.
Use of Photos and Videos
Hillary Clinton for President (the "Committee") regularly takes photographs and video ("Images") of campaign events. Unless a participant or attendee requests otherwise, his/her attendance at, or participation in, an event with the Committee or the Candidate is considered a release to use images obtained during that event for any lawful purpose, including on the Committee's website or in other promotional materials. For the purposes of this policy, “images” includes any still, digital, video, and photographic images, recordings, or drawings, which may include sound or other audio clips.
The Committee does not require specific permission from any or all individuals appearing in photographs or video of the audience at an event where specific individuals are not easily identifiable. Your attendance or participation is considered a release to use said images for any lawful purpose. The Committee reserves the right to use or not to use images of this type, in its sole discretion, without seeking any further permission.
In the event that an image of a child is used, the Committee will not disclose the child's name, age, location, or other "directory information" without specific written and verifiable consent by the child's parent or guardian.
All images, both solicited and unsolicited, which are submitted to the Committee become the exclusive property of the Committee. You understand that you will not receive compensation or other consideration for any images. You agree that you will not assert any claim against the Committee, its successor entities or other parties who use such images, and you relieve the Committee of liability for its use of the image(s).
By submitting images, you guarantee that you have obtained the permission of all persons contained in the image(s), and that it was taken lawfully. You further understand that images of minors must follow the guidelines listed above. The Committee reserves the right to edit and use any images as it sees fit including but not limited to advertising or other communications in any media, edited or unedited. You waive any right to inspect or approve the finished images or any printed or electronic use of the images on the part of the Committee.
If you object to an image of you (or your child) from appearing in photographs or video of campaign events, please notify the Committee in writing at:
Hillary Clinton for President4420 North Fairfax DriveArlington, VA 22203Fax: 703-962-8600
Contacting us about privacy
If you have any questions about our privacy policy, corrections to the information we have collected from you online, the practices of this site or your interaction with this website, send email to: support@hillaryclinton.com.
Our site links to a limited number of other websites. Hillary Clinton for President is not responsible for the content or the privacy policies of these websites. We encourage you to read the privacy statements for each website you visit. Hillary Clinton for President will occasionally update this privacy policy as changes to the site necessitate it. We encourage you to periodically review this policy to be informed of how we are protecting your information.
You can also reach us via U.S. Mail at:Hillary Clinton for President4420 North Fairfax DriveArlington, VA 22203
Friday, May 30, 2008
Barack Obama Online Privacy Policy
We at BarackObama.com are committed to protecting the privacy and security of your visits to this website. Outlined below is our online privacy policy. If you have questions about this policy, please let us know.
Collection and disclosure of information:
The Federal Election Commission requires us to collect certain information from every donor who gives money to us. For these reasons, we collect some information that can be directly associated with a specific person. We call this "Personal Information," and it includes, by way of illustration, names, addresses, telephone numbers and e-mail addresses.
We collect Personal Information from donors and other eligible individuals who affirmatively request to receive e-mail or other services from us. We collect this Personal Information in order to provide these eligible individuals with timely information via e-mail regarding political events, resources and issues. We also collect Personal Information from those who make online contributions to the campaign, in order to process and report the contributions.
It is our general policy not to make Personal Information available to anyone other than our employees, staff, and agents. We may also make personal information available to organizations with similar political viewpoints and objectives, in furtherance of our own political objectives.
Online petitions and Personal Information:
We treat your name, city, state, and any comments as public information. We may, for example, provide compilations of petitions, with your comments, to national leaders, without disclosing email addresses. We may also make comments along with your city and state available to the press and public online.
Opting out and modifying information:
Subscribers to our e-mail list may terminate their subscriptions via a link at the bottom of each email sent from BarackObama.com.
Browser information collected on the web site:
We log IP addresses, which are the locations of computers or networks on the Internet, and analyze them in order to improve the value of our site. We also collect aggregate numbers of page hits in order to track the popularity of certain pages and improve the value of our site. We do not gather, request, record, require, collect or track any Internet users' Personal Information through these processes.
We use cookies on our site.
A "cookie" is a tiny text file that we store on your computer to customize your experience and support some necessary functions. We also use cookies to better understand how our visitors use our site. Our cookies contain no Personal Information and are neither shared nor revealed to other sites. We do not look for or at other sites' cookies on your computer.
You also have choices with respect to cookies. By modifying your browser preferences, you can accept all cookies, be notified when a cookie is set, or reject all cookies. (For more information on how to block or filter cookies, see http://www.cookiecentral.com/faq/.)
However, if you reject some or all cookies, your experience at our site and other sites throughout the World Wide Web may not be complete. Also, you would be unable to take advantage of personalized content delivery offered by other Internet sites or by us.
We may use pixel tags (also known as web beacons or clear GIF files) or other tracking technology to help us manage our online advertising and to analyze and measure the effectiveness of online advertising campaigns and the general usage patterns of visitors to our Web site.. Such technologies may also be used by third party advertising service providers who serve or assist us in managing ads on our site, such as DoubleClick, Yahoo Tremor and 24/7 RealMedia. These files enable us or these third parties to recognize a unique cookie on your Web browser, which in turn enables us to learn which advertisements bring users to our website and to deliver advertising targeted to your interests. The information that is collected and shared using these pixel tags and similar technology is anonymous and not personally identifiable. It does not contain your name, address, telephone number, or email address. We are not responsible for and do not control any actions or policies of any third party advertising technology service providers or of any third party members of any related advertising networks.
For more information about DoubleClick, including information about how to opt out of the use of these technologies by DoubleClick, go to http://www.doubleclick.net/us/corporate/privacy. To opt out of collection by 24/7 Real Media, please visit: http://www.247realmedia.com/opt-out.html. To opt our of collection by Yahoo Search Marketing, please go to http://info.yahoo.com/privacy/us/yahoo/ysmt/details.html.
Privacy of our email lists:
As noted above, we maintain e-mail lists to keep interested, eligible individuals informed about important topics, and individuals must affirmatively request to join them. We configure our list server software to refuse to divulge the email addresses of our list subscribers to anyone other than those whom we authorize. However, we are not the author of this software, and are not responsible for any failures in the software to preserve subscriber anonymity.
Children's privacy:
Because we care about the safety and privacy of children online, we comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA). COPPA and its accompanying FTC regulation establish United States federal law that protects the privacy of children using the Internet. We do not knowingly contact or collect personal information from children under 13. Our site is not intended to solicit information of any kind from children under 13.
It is possible that by fraud or deception we may receive information pertaining to children under 13. If we are notified of this, as soon as we verify the information, we will immediately obtain parental consent or otherwise delete the information from our servers. If you want to notify us of our receipt of information by children under 13, please do so by emailing us at info@barackobama.com.
Security:
We maintain a variety of physical, electronic and procedural safeguards to protect your personal information. For example, we use commercially reasonable tools and techniques to protect against unauthorized access to our systems. Also, we restrict access to Personal Information to those who need such access in the course of their duties for us.
In addition, we protect the security of your credit card information when transmitted via our site by using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) software, which encrypts information you enter. You should know that we have no control over the security of other sites on the Internet you might visit, interact with, or from which you engage in financial transactions.
Your own efforts to protect against unauthorized access play an important role in protecting the security of your personal information. You should be sure to sign off when finished using a shared computer, and always log out of any site when viewing personal information.
We may have links to other, outside web sites that we do not control. We are not responsible for the content or privacy policies of these sites, and users should check those policies on such sites.
Changes to this policy:
We will revise or update this policy if our practices change, or as we develop better ways to keep you informed about them. You should refer back to this page often for the latest information and the effective date of any changes. If we decide to change this policy, we will post a new policy on our site and change the date at the bottom. Changes to the policy shall not apply retroactively.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at info@barackobama.com.
Related: Our Terms of Service
Collection and disclosure of information:
The Federal Election Commission requires us to collect certain information from every donor who gives money to us. For these reasons, we collect some information that can be directly associated with a specific person. We call this "Personal Information," and it includes, by way of illustration, names, addresses, telephone numbers and e-mail addresses.
We collect Personal Information from donors and other eligible individuals who affirmatively request to receive e-mail or other services from us. We collect this Personal Information in order to provide these eligible individuals with timely information via e-mail regarding political events, resources and issues. We also collect Personal Information from those who make online contributions to the campaign, in order to process and report the contributions.
It is our general policy not to make Personal Information available to anyone other than our employees, staff, and agents. We may also make personal information available to organizations with similar political viewpoints and objectives, in furtherance of our own political objectives.
Online petitions and Personal Information:
We treat your name, city, state, and any comments as public information. We may, for example, provide compilations of petitions, with your comments, to national leaders, without disclosing email addresses. We may also make comments along with your city and state available to the press and public online.
Opting out and modifying information:
Subscribers to our e-mail list may terminate their subscriptions via a link at the bottom of each email sent from BarackObama.com.
Browser information collected on the web site:
We log IP addresses, which are the locations of computers or networks on the Internet, and analyze them in order to improve the value of our site. We also collect aggregate numbers of page hits in order to track the popularity of certain pages and improve the value of our site. We do not gather, request, record, require, collect or track any Internet users' Personal Information through these processes.
We use cookies on our site.
A "cookie" is a tiny text file that we store on your computer to customize your experience and support some necessary functions. We also use cookies to better understand how our visitors use our site. Our cookies contain no Personal Information and are neither shared nor revealed to other sites. We do not look for or at other sites' cookies on your computer.
You also have choices with respect to cookies. By modifying your browser preferences, you can accept all cookies, be notified when a cookie is set, or reject all cookies. (For more information on how to block or filter cookies, see http://www.cookiecentral.com/faq/.)
However, if you reject some or all cookies, your experience at our site and other sites throughout the World Wide Web may not be complete. Also, you would be unable to take advantage of personalized content delivery offered by other Internet sites or by us.
We may use pixel tags (also known as web beacons or clear GIF files) or other tracking technology to help us manage our online advertising and to analyze and measure the effectiveness of online advertising campaigns and the general usage patterns of visitors to our Web site.. Such technologies may also be used by third party advertising service providers who serve or assist us in managing ads on our site, such as DoubleClick, Yahoo Tremor and 24/7 RealMedia. These files enable us or these third parties to recognize a unique cookie on your Web browser, which in turn enables us to learn which advertisements bring users to our website and to deliver advertising targeted to your interests. The information that is collected and shared using these pixel tags and similar technology is anonymous and not personally identifiable. It does not contain your name, address, telephone number, or email address. We are not responsible for and do not control any actions or policies of any third party advertising technology service providers or of any third party members of any related advertising networks.
For more information about DoubleClick, including information about how to opt out of the use of these technologies by DoubleClick, go to http://www.doubleclick.net/us/corporate/privacy. To opt out of collection by 24/7 Real Media, please visit: http://www.247realmedia.com/opt-out.html. To opt our of collection by Yahoo Search Marketing, please go to http://info.yahoo.com/privacy/us/yahoo/ysmt/details.html.
Privacy of our email lists:
As noted above, we maintain e-mail lists to keep interested, eligible individuals informed about important topics, and individuals must affirmatively request to join them. We configure our list server software to refuse to divulge the email addresses of our list subscribers to anyone other than those whom we authorize. However, we are not the author of this software, and are not responsible for any failures in the software to preserve subscriber anonymity.
Children's privacy:
Because we care about the safety and privacy of children online, we comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA). COPPA and its accompanying FTC regulation establish United States federal law that protects the privacy of children using the Internet. We do not knowingly contact or collect personal information from children under 13. Our site is not intended to solicit information of any kind from children under 13.
It is possible that by fraud or deception we may receive information pertaining to children under 13. If we are notified of this, as soon as we verify the information, we will immediately obtain parental consent or otherwise delete the information from our servers. If you want to notify us of our receipt of information by children under 13, please do so by emailing us at info@barackobama.com.
Security:
We maintain a variety of physical, electronic and procedural safeguards to protect your personal information. For example, we use commercially reasonable tools and techniques to protect against unauthorized access to our systems. Also, we restrict access to Personal Information to those who need such access in the course of their duties for us.
In addition, we protect the security of your credit card information when transmitted via our site by using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) software, which encrypts information you enter. You should know that we have no control over the security of other sites on the Internet you might visit, interact with, or from which you engage in financial transactions.
Your own efforts to protect against unauthorized access play an important role in protecting the security of your personal information. You should be sure to sign off when finished using a shared computer, and always log out of any site when viewing personal information.
We may have links to other, outside web sites that we do not control. We are not responsible for the content or privacy policies of these sites, and users should check those policies on such sites.
Changes to this policy:
We will revise or update this policy if our practices change, or as we develop better ways to keep you informed about them. You should refer back to this page often for the latest information and the effective date of any changes. If we decide to change this policy, we will post a new policy on our site and change the date at the bottom. Changes to the policy shall not apply retroactively.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at info@barackobama.com.
Related: Our Terms of Service
CDT: Consider Privacy When Designing Watermarks
Companies developing digital watermarking should put people's privacy interests front and center when designing applications, the Center for Democracy & Technology is urging today.
"Privacy questions should not be raised as an afterthought only at the end of the process or when privacy advocates have started to raise concerns," the CDT says in its new document, "Privacy Principles for Digital Watermarking."
Digital rights groups like the CDT worry that watermarks in music, movies and media files can potentially interfere with people's ability to keep their taste in entertainment to themselves. "Particular media usage choices could be sensitive if exposed, or could contribute to the creation of profiles of individuals' overall media purchase and consumption habits, which might be used in ways that the individuals do not expect or understand," the CDT writes.
For media companies, however, digital watermarking is seen as one way to stem piracy. After all, if every piece of content that people download off the Web contains information that could potentially identify the purchaser, and that information remains even when files are copied, then it's easier to point fingers when tracks or movies appear on Kazaa.
While the CDT isn't advocating an end to watermarking, it's asking companies to proceed with caution. Among other suggestions, the CDT urges that companies refrain from embedding identifying information directly in the watermarks and that companies notify consumers about watermarks and their potential impact on privacy.
Even if watermarking companies adopt these precautions, it seems inevitable that the shift to digital media will entail some loss of privacy. Whether following these principles will limit that loss is open to debate -- but the CDT certainly is right to at least remind everyone about what's at stake.
"Privacy questions should not be raised as an afterthought only at the end of the process or when privacy advocates have started to raise concerns," the CDT says in its new document, "Privacy Principles for Digital Watermarking."
Digital rights groups like the CDT worry that watermarks in music, movies and media files can potentially interfere with people's ability to keep their taste in entertainment to themselves. "Particular media usage choices could be sensitive if exposed, or could contribute to the creation of profiles of individuals' overall media purchase and consumption habits, which might be used in ways that the individuals do not expect or understand," the CDT writes.
For media companies, however, digital watermarking is seen as one way to stem piracy. After all, if every piece of content that people download off the Web contains information that could potentially identify the purchaser, and that information remains even when files are copied, then it's easier to point fingers when tracks or movies appear on Kazaa.
While the CDT isn't advocating an end to watermarking, it's asking companies to proceed with caution. Among other suggestions, the CDT urges that companies refrain from embedding identifying information directly in the watermarks and that companies notify consumers about watermarks and their potential impact on privacy.
Even if watermarking companies adopt these precautions, it seems inevitable that the shift to digital media will entail some loss of privacy. Whether following these principles will limit that loss is open to debate -- but the CDT certainly is right to at least remind everyone about what's at stake.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
What Are Cookies?
“Cookies?” you ask. “Are you saying that you’re getting rid of all the delicious cookies?”
“No, I’m saying that I’m going to delete the cookies from my computer!” your friend says impatiently.
Many often think of computer cookies as the type of cookies that you snack on once you get home. Of course, most people do not know what computer cookies actually are, as they have never been exposed to high-tech terminology as much as others have. But, there is always something new to learn about your computer, right?
What do cookies do?
- Allow the website you have visited on the internet (e.g. FireFox, Internet Explorer) to know that you have been there before
- Remember your login name and login password, so that it is not necessary to type them in each time
- Remember your profile information and other preferences
- Display different ads every time you access the website
Keep in mind that some websites require cookies to be kept in order to function properly on your PC. Sometimes, it’s best to leave the cookies active.
How do I delete cookies?
Cookies can be located in different areas, depending on which version of Windows you are using.
With Windows XP or Windows 2000, your cookie file should be in your C: folder. It should look like this (with your username replacing where it says “username”):
C:\Documents and Settings\username\Cookies\
On Windows Vista (two different locations):
C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Cookies\
C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Cookies\Low\
On Windows Me, Windows 98, Windows NT or Windows 95 (two different locations):
C:\Windows\Cookies\
C:\Windows\Profiles\\Cookies\
To delete the cookies, click on the file. On the left sidebar, you should be able to see a “Delete” or “Move to trashcan” button. Click on it, and your cookies should be deleted. Even if you try to delete all of the cookies, there is always this file called “index.dat,” which stores a lot of your information from other websites. The “index.dat” file keeps track of your history, login names for websites, and internet files.
Cookies can cause trouble, but they could also be prevented by using certain programs such as Mil Shield and Netduster. Know what’s best for you and put it to action. Cookies can cause websites to suddenly pop up on your screen without any notification, and they tend to help the website “remember” your private information. If you want to keep your information more private, delete your cookies more often, or get a cookie program
“No, I’m saying that I’m going to delete the cookies from my computer!” your friend says impatiently.
Many often think of computer cookies as the type of cookies that you snack on once you get home. Of course, most people do not know what computer cookies actually are, as they have never been exposed to high-tech terminology as much as others have. But, there is always something new to learn about your computer, right?
What do cookies do?
- Allow the website you have visited on the internet (e.g. FireFox, Internet Explorer) to know that you have been there before
- Remember your login name and login password, so that it is not necessary to type them in each time
- Remember your profile information and other preferences
- Display different ads every time you access the website
Keep in mind that some websites require cookies to be kept in order to function properly on your PC. Sometimes, it’s best to leave the cookies active.
How do I delete cookies?
Cookies can be located in different areas, depending on which version of Windows you are using.
With Windows XP or Windows 2000, your cookie file should be in your C: folder. It should look like this (with your username replacing where it says “username”):
C:\Documents and Settings\username\Cookies\
On Windows Vista (two different locations):
C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Cookies\
C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Cookies\Low\
On Windows Me, Windows 98, Windows NT or Windows 95 (two different locations):
C:\Windows\Cookies\
C:\Windows\Profiles\
To delete the cookies, click on the file. On the left sidebar, you should be able to see a “Delete” or “Move to trashcan” button. Click on it, and your cookies should be deleted. Even if you try to delete all of the cookies, there is always this file called “index.dat,” which stores a lot of your information from other websites. The “index.dat” file keeps track of your history, login names for websites, and internet files.
Cookies can cause trouble, but they could also be prevented by using certain programs such as Mil Shield and Netduster. Know what’s best for you and put it to action. Cookies can cause websites to suddenly pop up on your screen without any notification, and they tend to help the website “remember” your private information. If you want to keep your information more private, delete your cookies more often, or get a cookie program
Monday, May 26, 2008
Monday, May 5, 2008
Yes, That's Microsoft Welcoming Regulation
Behemoth's Backing of Bills Seems to Fly in the Face of Its Bid for Yahoo and Ad Revenue Goals
By Abbey Klaassen
Microsoft is pushing for regulation of the data that online companies collect for marketing purposes, leaving rivals angry and perplexed.
Almost every other internet-ad company is squarely against government regulation, fearing it'll lead to the elimination of advertising's most valuable trait -- the ability to target individuals. Many are also mystified as to why a company that aims to make 25% of its $50 billion in revenue from online ad revenue, and is in the throes of buying Yahoo, a pure-play online ad seller, would favor government-mandated controls over data that have the promise to deliver targeted advertising and thus help grow the online ad business. [Ed. note: Following publication of this story, Microsoft withdrew its bid for Yahoo.]
Specifically, Microsoft is supporting of two state proposals -- one in New York and another in Connecticut -- that would regulate how internet companies track online consumers' web-surfing data.
The New York bill, introduced by Assemblyman Richard L. Brodsky, would require companies to offer clear and easy ways for consumers to opt out of having their online-surfing behaviors tracked by third parties. It also would bar online-ad sellers from pairing search-behavior data with personally identifiable data -- name, address, phone number, etc. -- without consumers' explicit permission.
The Connecticut bill requires websites to clearly post how third-party firms collect and use data and, as the Hartford Business Journal reported in April, it has been pushed by a lobbying firm, Capitol Strategies Group, of which Microsoft is a client.
When asked whether Microsoft was involved in drafting the Connecticut bill, Michael Hintze, associate general counsel for Microsoft, said: "We're working very closely with the sponsor of that bill and giving our feedback to them."
Best practicesOn the general principle of why Microsoft would support regulation when almost all its rivals are opposed to it, he said: "We think legislation can be an appropriate part of the mix in protecting consumer privacy. ... It's been a long-standing position of ours that we're willing to at least discuss well-crafted legislation as part of a privacy solution. We've taken a position that we're willing to talk with and engage in a positive manner with the sponsors of these bills. The bills themselves have not gone much further than listing best practices around NAI [Network Advertising Initiative] guidelines or other best practices that are out there."
Still, the advertising business has almost always favored self-regulation. The usual argument is that marketers don't want to overstep their bounds, because alienating consumers is not in their best interest. And when marketers do run afoul of consumers or politicians, they have typically volunteered to come up with their own guidelines and ways of enforcing them, thus avoiding federal or state intervention. And that's exactly how Microsoft's rivals view the prospect of regulating computer cookies: They believe it could do considerable damage to the internet ad industry's ability to grow and provide ads that are relevant to consumers, rather than ads based on site context or just pinged at them at random.
Too much regulation could even hurt Microsoft itself, given that it has placed a great deal of emphasis on tactics such as engagement mapping, unveiled just a few months ago as a revolutionary way to measure online advertising. It could also hurt the $40-billion-plus business the company would like to acquire: Yahoo.
That's why its stance is perplexing: first because it's Microsoft, a company that has typically favored less, not more, government regulation, but also because most online-ad companies fear that the language in regulatory bills is far too broad and that a state-by-state patchwork of legislation would be confusing and technically unfeasible. In fact, some of Microsoft's most cynical critics suggest the company is purposefully trying to make business more difficult for online advertisers. In other words, if it can't win at online advertising, it's going to make sure no one can.
"They have less skin in the game," said a person familiar with the legislation. And it is true: Advertising is still a much smaller part of Microsoft's business than Google's. In Microsoft's 2007 fiscal year, ad revenue totaled $1.84 billion, less than 4% of its $51 billion total. Nearly all of its chief rival's $16 billion-plus 2007 revenue was ad-related.
'In with both feet'Mr. Hintze denied such charges. "Look, we just spent $6 billion to buy aQuantive, and we're looking at another major acquisition ... [which] would be the biggest in our history," he said. "We're in with both feet in the ad space. It would be foolhardy for us to spend that kind of money ... and then turn around and do something that we think would undermine that business model."
The worry is that one regulation will lead to another and eventually something much more dramatic -- such as a requirement that consumers opt in to cookie collection -- could become law. Microsoft said it would not support such a measure. It could arguably deal with it better than others because its software is on 90% of desktops, and it would have little trouble bundling an opt-in with its consumer software/service relationship.
Regulation ultimately will help the industry, Mr. Hintze said. "These business models, which we think are completely legitimate, do involve the collection of data and raise questions about privacy," he said. "We think that if consumers and advocates in nonprofits and legislative bodies are more comfortable that this is being done in a responsible way that protects consumer privacy, [then] that benefits the business model."
In an interview with Ad Age, Mr. Brodsky called Microsoft's reaction to his bill intelligent and thoughtful. "They were asking questions about to whom the principles would extend," he said. "In the end it'll extend to anyone collecting the data. ... It's a process of working out language. And a lawmaker will learn from listening carefully to affected companies."
Currying favorEven privacy advocates are a bit surprised -- pleasantly, of course -- by Microsoft. "They've decided to become the un-Google," said Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy. He said the company could be trying to curry goodwill with regulators in advance of acquiring Yahoo, as that combination likely would be examined.
Online-ad companies have been critical of a state-by-state approach also because state regulations could become de facto national regulations, as it is impossible to be sure where an internet user is located. Neither state proposal will necessarily have a chilling effect on online advertising, as the requirements go no further than the industry's self-imposed standards.
But, said Jim Halpert, counsel for the industry association State Privacy and Security Coalition, "once you start with regulation in this area, it's very difficult to stop it."
By Abbey Klaassen
Microsoft is pushing for regulation of the data that online companies collect for marketing purposes, leaving rivals angry and perplexed.
Almost every other internet-ad company is squarely against government regulation, fearing it'll lead to the elimination of advertising's most valuable trait -- the ability to target individuals. Many are also mystified as to why a company that aims to make 25% of its $50 billion in revenue from online ad revenue, and is in the throes of buying Yahoo, a pure-play online ad seller, would favor government-mandated controls over data that have the promise to deliver targeted advertising and thus help grow the online ad business. [Ed. note: Following publication of this story, Microsoft withdrew its bid for Yahoo.]
Specifically, Microsoft is supporting of two state proposals -- one in New York and another in Connecticut -- that would regulate how internet companies track online consumers' web-surfing data.
The New York bill, introduced by Assemblyman Richard L. Brodsky, would require companies to offer clear and easy ways for consumers to opt out of having their online-surfing behaviors tracked by third parties. It also would bar online-ad sellers from pairing search-behavior data with personally identifiable data -- name, address, phone number, etc. -- without consumers' explicit permission.
The Connecticut bill requires websites to clearly post how third-party firms collect and use data and, as the Hartford Business Journal reported in April, it has been pushed by a lobbying firm, Capitol Strategies Group, of which Microsoft is a client.
When asked whether Microsoft was involved in drafting the Connecticut bill, Michael Hintze, associate general counsel for Microsoft, said: "We're working very closely with the sponsor of that bill and giving our feedback to them."
Best practicesOn the general principle of why Microsoft would support regulation when almost all its rivals are opposed to it, he said: "We think legislation can be an appropriate part of the mix in protecting consumer privacy. ... It's been a long-standing position of ours that we're willing to at least discuss well-crafted legislation as part of a privacy solution. We've taken a position that we're willing to talk with and engage in a positive manner with the sponsors of these bills. The bills themselves have not gone much further than listing best practices around NAI [Network Advertising Initiative] guidelines or other best practices that are out there."
Still, the advertising business has almost always favored self-regulation. The usual argument is that marketers don't want to overstep their bounds, because alienating consumers is not in their best interest. And when marketers do run afoul of consumers or politicians, they have typically volunteered to come up with their own guidelines and ways of enforcing them, thus avoiding federal or state intervention. And that's exactly how Microsoft's rivals view the prospect of regulating computer cookies: They believe it could do considerable damage to the internet ad industry's ability to grow and provide ads that are relevant to consumers, rather than ads based on site context or just pinged at them at random.
Too much regulation could even hurt Microsoft itself, given that it has placed a great deal of emphasis on tactics such as engagement mapping, unveiled just a few months ago as a revolutionary way to measure online advertising. It could also hurt the $40-billion-plus business the company would like to acquire: Yahoo.
That's why its stance is perplexing: first because it's Microsoft, a company that has typically favored less, not more, government regulation, but also because most online-ad companies fear that the language in regulatory bills is far too broad and that a state-by-state patchwork of legislation would be confusing and technically unfeasible. In fact, some of Microsoft's most cynical critics suggest the company is purposefully trying to make business more difficult for online advertisers. In other words, if it can't win at online advertising, it's going to make sure no one can.
"They have less skin in the game," said a person familiar with the legislation. And it is true: Advertising is still a much smaller part of Microsoft's business than Google's. In Microsoft's 2007 fiscal year, ad revenue totaled $1.84 billion, less than 4% of its $51 billion total. Nearly all of its chief rival's $16 billion-plus 2007 revenue was ad-related.
'In with both feet'Mr. Hintze denied such charges. "Look, we just spent $6 billion to buy aQuantive, and we're looking at another major acquisition ... [which] would be the biggest in our history," he said. "We're in with both feet in the ad space. It would be foolhardy for us to spend that kind of money ... and then turn around and do something that we think would undermine that business model."
The worry is that one regulation will lead to another and eventually something much more dramatic -- such as a requirement that consumers opt in to cookie collection -- could become law. Microsoft said it would not support such a measure. It could arguably deal with it better than others because its software is on 90% of desktops, and it would have little trouble bundling an opt-in with its consumer software/service relationship.
Regulation ultimately will help the industry, Mr. Hintze said. "These business models, which we think are completely legitimate, do involve the collection of data and raise questions about privacy," he said. "We think that if consumers and advocates in nonprofits and legislative bodies are more comfortable that this is being done in a responsible way that protects consumer privacy, [then] that benefits the business model."
In an interview with Ad Age, Mr. Brodsky called Microsoft's reaction to his bill intelligent and thoughtful. "They were asking questions about to whom the principles would extend," he said. "In the end it'll extend to anyone collecting the data. ... It's a process of working out language. And a lawmaker will learn from listening carefully to affected companies."
Currying favorEven privacy advocates are a bit surprised -- pleasantly, of course -- by Microsoft. "They've decided to become the un-Google," said Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy. He said the company could be trying to curry goodwill with regulators in advance of acquiring Yahoo, as that combination likely would be examined.
Online-ad companies have been critical of a state-by-state approach also because state regulations could become de facto national regulations, as it is impossible to be sure where an internet user is located. Neither state proposal will necessarily have a chilling effect on online advertising, as the requirements go no further than the industry's self-imposed standards.
But, said Jim Halpert, counsel for the industry association State Privacy and Security Coalition, "once you start with regulation in this area, it's very difficult to stop it."
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Is it time to reconsider first-party cookies?
Consolidation in the industry and the increased importance of quality audience data is again raising privacy issues. Can first-party cookies help keep data private?
This week's acquisition of Adify got me thinking again about data ownership issues. It seems like a lifetime ago when I stood up before a group of fellow agency professionals at an industry conference and talked at length about how independent ad management companies were being gobbled up, and how that would affect our business in the future. By and large, nobody seemed to care about GoogleClick or MicroAtlas. I don't know whether or not anyone on the agency side will care enough to take action.
There's an inherent conflict of interest in companies that own ad sales operations as well as those businesses that house performance and audience data for the advertisers they sell to. That's why ad management companies were careful to explain to their customer base that PII (personally identifiable information) would be firewalled from prying eyes. Still, if you tend to be cynical about these kinds of things, the mere ownership should bother you enough to make you want to look into alternatives.
Could one of those alternatives be first-party cookies?
Back in the day, this was one of the potential solutions we discussed when widespread ad-blocking became the norm. If most of the ads online came from a handful of ad servers, anyone writing an ad-stripping application could easily distinguish between ad requests and content requests and thus make something that would enable people to surf the web nearly ad-free.
I don't want to open that can of worms again. I merely want to call attention to the notion that we've considered first-party cookies before.
Here's the idea: Instead of serving ads from a central location, they're served from an advertiser's own domain. Since one of the HTTP ground rules is that cookies can only be read or altered by the user or by servers that set them, serving from one's own domain would do a reasonably good job of ensuring that audience data assets stay with an advertiser.
Here's the problem: Moving to first-party cookies used to require a technology overhaul on the part of advertisers and agencies. Most advertisers want to handle ad serving by paying a usage-based fee to an independent ad serving provider, rather than by getting into the ad serving business themselves. But, as I mentioned, the independents aren't really independent anymore, save for a few smaller players. So big publisher-owned ad serving companies have full-campaign visibility into advertiser initiatives (and often have a lengthy history as well).
If advertisers served ads from their own domains, we could eliminate the notion of a provider other than the advertiser having full-campaign visibility into the audience and its behavior. (Sure, if you run half your ad budget on a large network provider, that network will have visibility into the portion of the campaign that they run, but there's very little we can do to fix that at this point in the game.)
Less-established ad serving players, like TruEffect, are betting heavy on the first-party cookie approach. It makes me wonder whether agencies can help preserve their relevance as data analysts and guardians of client marketing intelligence by adopting this approach.
What do you think? Is it time to look at first-party cookies again?
This week's acquisition of Adify got me thinking again about data ownership issues. It seems like a lifetime ago when I stood up before a group of fellow agency professionals at an industry conference and talked at length about how independent ad management companies were being gobbled up, and how that would affect our business in the future. By and large, nobody seemed to care about GoogleClick or MicroAtlas. I don't know whether or not anyone on the agency side will care enough to take action.
There's an inherent conflict of interest in companies that own ad sales operations as well as those businesses that house performance and audience data for the advertisers they sell to. That's why ad management companies were careful to explain to their customer base that PII (personally identifiable information) would be firewalled from prying eyes. Still, if you tend to be cynical about these kinds of things, the mere ownership should bother you enough to make you want to look into alternatives.
Could one of those alternatives be first-party cookies?
Back in the day, this was one of the potential solutions we discussed when widespread ad-blocking became the norm. If most of the ads online came from a handful of ad servers, anyone writing an ad-stripping application could easily distinguish between ad requests and content requests and thus make something that would enable people to surf the web nearly ad-free.
I don't want to open that can of worms again. I merely want to call attention to the notion that we've considered first-party cookies before.
Here's the idea: Instead of serving ads from a central location, they're served from an advertiser's own domain. Since one of the HTTP ground rules is that cookies can only be read or altered by the user or by servers that set them, serving from one's own domain would do a reasonably good job of ensuring that audience data assets stay with an advertiser.
Here's the problem: Moving to first-party cookies used to require a technology overhaul on the part of advertisers and agencies. Most advertisers want to handle ad serving by paying a usage-based fee to an independent ad serving provider, rather than by getting into the ad serving business themselves. But, as I mentioned, the independents aren't really independent anymore, save for a few smaller players. So big publisher-owned ad serving companies have full-campaign visibility into advertiser initiatives (and often have a lengthy history as well).
If advertisers served ads from their own domains, we could eliminate the notion of a provider other than the advertiser having full-campaign visibility into the audience and its behavior. (Sure, if you run half your ad budget on a large network provider, that network will have visibility into the portion of the campaign that they run, but there's very little we can do to fix that at this point in the game.)
Less-established ad serving players, like TruEffect, are betting heavy on the first-party cookie approach. It makes me wonder whether agencies can help preserve their relevance as data analysts and guardians of client marketing intelligence by adopting this approach.
What do you think? Is it time to look at first-party cookies again?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)