Do Not Track: Technology, Policy, and Politics

October 27, 2011
Jonathan Mayer | Stanford University

Web tracking is pervasive: the average popular website incorporates over fifty third-party tracking mechanisms. And web tracking is unpopular: a majority of Americans oppose the practice. Do Not Track is a technology and policy response that would provide users with a simple, universal web tracking opt out. Both the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Commerce have signaled support. This talk explores central questions in the ongoing web privacy debate:

What information do third parties collect about users?
What technologies do third parties use to track users?
What limits does the online advertising industry’s self-regulation impose?
What should Do Not Track prohibit?
Who should enforce it, and how?
What would the economic impact be?
Could it actually happen?

To learn more, visit http://donottrack.us and follow @donottrack.

Speaker Details

Jonathan Mayer is a computer science Ph.D. student and 3L at Stanford University. He graduated from Princeton University in 2009 with a concentration in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. Jonathan’s area of study encompasses the intersections of policy, law, and computer science – with particular emphasis on national security and international relations. A proud Chicago native, he is undaunted by freezing weather and enjoys celery salt on a hot dog.