What is the ‘Do Not Track Law’?
In February of this year, US Congresswoman Rep. Jackie Speier introduced a package of Bills to Congress that includes an online “do not track” policy for companies that collect personal information. The proposed law has caused considerable stir amongst the online advertising world as it braces itself for the possible effects it might take on targeted advertising. The suggested Do Not Track legislation works on the premise of making internet usage more private. The principle initiative of the legislation is that web users can opt-out of being tracked which would in turn lead to a small portion of code called a “header” being inserted into a Web server that tells a Web site that the user does not wish to be tracked.
Possible Obstacles for the ‘Do Not Track Law’:
The main concern is that with the legislation in place, so few users will actively opt-in to being tracked that advertising networks will cease to invest in the infrastructure necessary to create target-based advertisements. On top of this, one of the principle features of modern Mobile Marketing is targeted advertising. Marketers often research the online behaviour of customers in order to tailor their campaigns to engage with key, target demographics. With the Do Not Track Law, this entire initiative could be compromised.
Who is already adhering to the ‘Do Not Track Law’?
Many of the top web browsers worldwide are already following the Law and have hopped on to the “Do not track” bandwagon. Apple’s next version of Safari includes a “Do Not Track” setting. Likewise, Firefox and Internet Explorer have followed suit and included similar features, but Google Chrome will not be supporting the feature. Google spokespeople state that the definition of “tracking” is still unclear and, as such, there is not a fully fool proof and sufficient solution at this time. In spite of this however, Google Chrome will include a “Keep My Opt-Outs” option in its next version that will prevents users from deleting “opt-out” cookies from ad networks when they delete their cookies wholesale.
What does the ‘Do Not Track Law’ mean for mobile?
There is no question that the proposed bill could be a severe hindrance to mobile marketing. It is still uncertain as to whether or not the marketing and Internet industries will combine to form an anti-tracking mechanism available. There may be some reprieve for marketers if they employ similar behavioural analysis as Facebook. The legislation will not affect the profiling practises of Facebook because the company collects information from the user when they log in to their accounts, focussing on what the user tells the company about themselves as opposed to Google’s DoubleClick ad system, which watches what people do around the Internet.
This article was written by Sam Hallahan of TXT2GET, a leading mobile marketing company. TXT2GET supply affordable SMS keywords that typically increase ad response by 2-3x. SMS keywords also bring measurability & accountability to advertising, because you can see the exact time and date that responses come in. Click on the link to get free advice on how mobile marketing can improve your business’ advertising.