RE: ACTION-371: text defining de-identified data

Dan,

Perhaps you can add text clarifying this perspective or, much like the FTC, suffice with "device" which I believe more than covers what you're looking for here.

- Shane

From: Dan Auerbach [mailto:dan@eff.org]
Sent: Tuesday, March 12, 2013 8:57 AM
To: public-tracking@w3.org
Subject: Re: ACTION-371: text defining de-identified data

Shane and Kevin -- The phrase "user agent" in the text is intended to refer to a particular user agent (not "Chrome 26" but rather "the browser running on Dan's laptop". I hoped that would be clear from context, but if it's not we can clarify. I may not be able to identify your device per se, but can identify that this is the same browser as I saw before. I think this is the case with using cookies, for example. It seems more accurate to me than lumping it all under "device", and appropriate since the text of our document is elsewhere focused on user agents, unlike the FTC text.

Best,
Dan

On 03/12/2013 12:19 AM, Kevin Kiley wrote:
>> Shane Wiley wrote...
>> I had removed "user agent" in the suggested edit as this could be something as generic as "Chrome 26".

It can also be something VERY specific... and tell you a LOT about the Computer/OS/Device being used.

In the case of Mobile... it will pretty much tell you EXACTLY what 'Device' is being used.

>> The FTC likewise does not use "user agent" in their definition.

That's true... but BOTH definitions (W3C and FTC) currently mention 'Device'... and the FTC
reports go to great lengths about how important it is to exclude any knowledge of 'the Device'
from the de-identified data ( especially in the case of 'Mobile Devices' ).

Kevin Kiley








--

Dan Auerbach

Staff Technologist

Electronic Frontier Foundation

dan@eff.org<mailto:dan@eff.org>

415 436 9333 x134