In semi-recent news the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) has been pondering a “Do Not Track” registry for the web and Microsoft has responded by attempting to shore up the blocking provisions in Internet Explorer 9. Although dubbed similar to a “Do Not Call” list, the new privacy protection in fact works a great deal more like ad block software and is integrated directly into IE9.

Audrey Watters at Read Write Web brings us news of this new privacy option,

Tracking Protection will be an opt-in mechanism within the browser for users to identify and block certain forms of tracking. In addition Tracking Protection Lists will enable consumers to have more control over what third-party sites can track them while they’re online – creating white lists, of sorts, for sites in which consumers don’t mind sharing their data.

Arguing that this will be akin to a browser-based version of the "Do Not Call" list, Microsoft Chief Privacy Strategist Peter Cullen said that, "By designing these sorts of enhancements with privacy in mind at the design phase, we’re able to deliver a functionality that provides consumers additional levels of control over what they want to engage in and how they choose to do so." He added that Microsoft believes "that the combination of consumer control, an open platform for publishing and Tracking Protection Lists, including lists that allow ‘calls,’ offer progress and a good balance between empowering consumers and online industry needs."

Consumers using this technology should know that it’s basically ad-block and not comprehensive privacy protection, which would require better education of users and data use visualization.

If a user were to visit the site from which the blocked content came from they could still be “tracked” by that site; also the site they’re currently using could collaborate with the tracking sites, discover that the user is blocking the 3^rd party sites, and send them the relevant information. I’m sure, however, it will be an amazing resource to widely deploy ad-blocking software through Microsoft’s most popular browser.

The demonstration portrays an extremely one-hit-wonder enhancement to the privacy of the browsing public. From the hype, I expected something that would be a great deal more comprehensive: what about cookies, does it also affect Javascript elements that might call that website and send information, what about Flash plug-ins that come from the primary site but connect out. These protections exist in the basic privacy and security rules within Internet Explorer (and can be tuned up and down and sites can be white listed as well.)

The security geek in me, however, can see that part of this enhancement reveals invisible 1-pixel “bug” images designed only to place a 3^rd party tracking cookie. While not always nefarious, this activity has always seemed a little bit sneaky. By knocking out all content from that site, the browser will send no information directly to them (not even IP address, the one thing that the user cannot hide without using an anonymizer service.)