ACTION-211 Draft text on how user agents must obtain consent to turn on a DNT signal

Hello, here is draft language for the compliance document on user agent 
requirements.  The first paragraph is new, the second two are 
copied-and-pasted from Section 3 of the current TPE spec.

Replace 4.2 Intermediary Compliance (empty) with this new section:

4.2 User Agent Compliance

A user agent MAY offer a control to express a tracking preference to 
third parties.  The control MUST communicate the user's preference in 
accordance with the [[Tracking Preference Expression (DNT)]] 
recommendation and otherwise comply with that recommendation.  A user 
agent MUST NOT express a tracking preference for a user unless the user 
has interacted with the user agent in such a way as to indicate a 
tracking preference.

We do not specify how tracking preference choices are offered to the 
user or how the preference is enabled: each implementation is 
responsible for determining the user experience by which a tracking 
preference is enabled. For example, a user might select a check-box in 
their user agent's configuration, install an extension or add-on that is 
specifically designed to add a tracking preference expression, or make a 
choice for privacy that then implicitly includes a tracking preference 
(e.g., "Privacy settings: high"). Likewise, a user might install or 
configure a proxy to add the expression to their own outgoing requests.

Although some controlled network environments, such as public access 
terminals or managed corporate intranets, might impose restrictions on 
the use or configuration of installed user agents, such that a user 
might only have access to user agents with a predetermined preference 
enabled, the user is at least able to choose whether to make use of 
those user agents. In contrast, if a user brings their own Web-enabled 
device to a library or cafe with wireless Internet access, the 
expectation will be that their chosen user agent and personal 
preferences regarding Web site behavior will not be altered by the 
network environment, aside from blanket limitations on what resources 
can or cannot be accessed through that network. Implementations of HTTP 
that are not under control of the user /must not/ express a tracking 
preference on their behalf.

-- 
Justin Brookman
Director, Consumer Privacy
Center for Democracy&  Technology
1634 I Street NW, Suite 1100
Washington, DC 20006
tel 202.407.8812
fax 202.637.0969
justin@cdt.org
http://www.cdt.org
@CenDemTech
@JustinBrookman

Received on Wednesday, 13 June 2012 14:27:14 UTC