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back to article Opting out of behavioural ads to get easier for US users

US web users will soon be able to opt out of behavioural advertising operated by members of the main advertising and marketing trade bodies. The groups have agreed to set up a single point at which users can opt out of the tracking behind the ads. Advertising trade bodies came together last year to create a body of self- …

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  1. adnim

    I am pretty sure

    that the majority of readers of The Register, myself included, will have already opted out of any ads that we don't want to receive. We never accept third party cookies and only ever accept session cookies or permanent cookies from sites we trust.

    I opted out of advertising when I learned how the host file works. Nowadays Adblock and CS Lite do a superb job for those who are unsure of editing system files.

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    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      @Adnim

      Nope - Ads are a fact of life, they pay for lots of stuff I need to do my job and don't want to have to subscribe to a few years down the line because of freeloaders. I even click ads on sites I like to ensure the author gets paid.

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  2. Ian Michael Gumby
    Coat

    Yeah er Riiiight.!

    I'll believe it when I see it.

    Sorry but none of these trade organizations are trust worthy. Or rather there's no true enforcement of when their "members" behave badly.

    Sorry, but I'll stick to NoScript and stop the tracking that way.

    (Or at least hinder it.)

    What's really interesting is the addition of social networking to site like CNN, Chicago Tribune (Tribune company run a couple of news papers across the US.) which require people who wish to post comments on articles/editorials, must sign in using their Twiiter/Google/Facebook login.

    Gee I wonder why? :-(

    But hey! I have nothing to hide... right?

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  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Can we please be clear about this?

    Now, is this truly a personal opt-out? If I use, say, a PC at work, a PC at home and one in a cyber cafe, will I still be opted out without any action on my part?

    I suspect not. I would guess that it is just the PC's user account which is opted out, or at best, just a specific PC, not the person.

    No, no, no, no, no.

    And a double dose of FOAD for anyone who doesn't understand "no".

    If behavioural advertising really IS that good and enrichening, then make it truly opt in:

    Cookie = Tracking and ads.

    No cookie = no tracking and random ads.

    If targetted ads are really, really, really, really that desirable and people really, really, really, really want them, then they'll be falling over themselves to opt in.

    Won't they?

    Can we please have a turd icon?

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  4. Seanmon
    WTF?

    The...

    dynamic new online advertising market??

    Where the hell have you been, mate?

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  5. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    I am pretty sure too

    ... that we can trust the British government to protect our privacy. Why should I worry about AdBlock and the likes when I know that I can trust the privacy laws of this country. They are of such a high standard that the EU commission is now issuing fines towards other EU countries where the law does not provide the same level of protection.

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  6. JaitcH
    Happy

    The benefit of using the InterNet in ...

    China and VietNam is that many of the ad servers are blocked so we have large areas of white space.

    It was until Facebook got blocked did I realise just how many adverts they foist on us.

    Thank you censors, keep up the good work!

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  7. Anonymous Coward
    Pint

    Opt in not out

    What is needed now is for all major operating systems to include code to opt out as soon as they are first connected to the Internet. The user may then choose to opt in which is how it should be. Somehow, sadly, I get the feeling that this is very unlikely to happen.

    Beer. Drowning sorrows. For the use of.

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