The US Network Advertising Initiative (NAI) today announced an
intention to develop on-line industry standards for the use of web
bugs, also known as “web beacons” or “clear GIFs.” The NAI’s
principles aim to uphold the use of web bugs which the NAI sees as
“critical to the continued growth and success of the on-line
economy,” but also recognise the need for greater transparency in
their use.
Web bugs can be used by third party sites to implant cookies on
to a user’s PC in order to track their movements across other
affiliated sites without the user’s knowledge. They are used by
companies to facilitate visitor counts, web usage patterns and
assess the efficacy of ad campaigns.
Last week AOL announced an addition to its privacy policy to
clear the way for the company to use such on-line tracking tools.
The policy amendment reads:
“AOL may use …web beacons…to collect
anonymous and aggregate advertising metrics, such as counting page
views, promotion views or advertising responses.”
AOL however, responded to the concerns of privacy advocates by
saying it would not use the technology to track user behaviour.
“We do not allow these technologies to track
what members are doing on the web or the service, nor do we allow
any organisation to build profiles about our members.”
The NAI aims to clarify the various circumstances in which web
bugs should be used and what privacy policies and opt-out
mechanisms should be employed and in which circumstances in order
to address consumer privacy concerns.
