Re: Issue for discussion on Wed

Thanks for the clarification, Justin. I was thinking a browser or other UA
could be considered a third party if they engaged in tracking. Seems like
that may not be as clear for others.

> 
> Or do you mean that the company that makes the user agent can't track if DNT
> is signed on?  That is, Google can't track what I do in Chrome unless I give
> them permission (e.g., "sign into Chrome")?

I mean that a User agent shouldn't be able to track (as defined by the WG)
without consent.  However, to build on your example above, merely signing
into a browser may not be enough to enable tracking. I don't want to revisit
a debate on consent standards as I believe that's been left to regulators in
local jurisdictions. In the U.S., it would seem like burying the
notification of tracking on page 17 of a long EULA would be unlikely to meet
the Sears definition of consent. But again ­ I leave that to the FTC to
determine.
> 
> 
> Justin Brookman
> Director, Consumer Privacy
> Center for Democracy & Technology
> tel 202.407.8812
> justin@cdt.org
> http://www.cdt.org <http://www.cdt.org/>
> @JustinBrookman
> @CenDemTech
> 
> 
> 
> On Jul 9, 2013, at 10:23 AM, Alan Chapell <achapell@chapellassociates.com>
> wrote:
> 
>> Colleagues - 
>> 
>> I apologize if I'm being repetitive. I'm trying to err on the side of caution
>> and wasn't sure if this needed to be raised again.
>> 
>> Proposed language:
>> "A user agent MUST NOT track information related to the network interaction
>> outside of the [Permitted Uses] and any explicitly-granted exceptions without
>> consent."
>> 
>> Rationale: 
>> In reviewing the June draft with colleagues, it occurred to me that some User
>> Agents ­ technically speaking ­ could engage in tracking. My sense is that it
>> is implicit that User agents would fall under the definition of third party
>> under this spec and therefore would be subject to certain requirements. My
>> goal was to make that more explicit. And as others have noted, the use case
>> is not merely speculative. (See
>> http://download.cnet.com/8301-2007_4-20123464-12/amazons-silk-browser-now-eff
>> -approved-really/ and
>> http://www.theregister.co.uk/2003/11/07/help_my_belkin_router/)
>> 
>> Alan
>> 
>