White House Asks Public If It Wants Cookies

White House Asks Public If It Wants Cookies

Media Post

By Wendy Davis

July 24, 2009

The Obama administration is asking the public to weigh in on whether the government should liberalize its 9-year-old policy limiting the use of persistent cookies. In a blog post issued Friday, administration officials asked for opinions about matters including what basic principles should govern cookies, the choice between allowing consumers to opt out and requiring opt-in consent, and whether the use of cookies raises any non-obvious privacy issues….

Earlier this year, groups including the think tank Future of Privacy Forum and digital rights organization Center for Democracy & Technology proposed that the White House should loosen restrictions on cookies.

The government’s use of cookies and other technology that potentially identifies particular computers is seen as raising more significant civil liberties issues than tracking by private companies who engage in ad targeting. But the government’s decision regarding cookies could still affect Web companies’ policies, says Jules Polonetsky, co-chair and director of the Future of Privacy Forum. “The ability of government to track users needs to be far more constrained than the private sector, but a smart policy that enables analytics and some degree of personalization could be very influential in showing what can be done,” he says.

Jules Polonetsky quoted:

“The ability of government to track users needs to be far more constrained than the private sector, but a smart policy that enables analytics and some degree of personalization could be very influential in showing what can be done,” he says.

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