Stanford CIS

The State Of Opt-Outs: Not Pretty For Privacy

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"As the ad industry girds for the mushrooming debate around privacy, consumer choice and ad blocking, it’s clear that existing opt-out mechanisms aren’t exactly cutting it, especially when it comes to cross-device.

But although mobile adds another layer of complexity to the situation, online advertising is still reliant on a little .txt file called the cookie, the frail backbone of online opt-outs, which Stanford privacy researcher Jonathan Mayer called a “boneheaded means of implementing consumer choice.”

First Off: Cookies

“Cookies are very fragile,” Mayer said, “They’re not exactly what you want in place when consumers are trying to exercise firm privacy choices.”"

Published in: Press , online tracking , Privacy