SHARE

‘Do Not Track’ Rules Favored by U.S. Consumers: Gallup

A USA Today/Gallup poll released this week finds strong consumer sentiment in favor of keeping advertisers from tracking their movements on the Web. The news comes at a time when U.S. lawmakers are considering so-called “Do Not Track” legislation that would set limits on how much personal information Web companies can collect on consumers as […]

Written By

David Needle

Dec 22, 2010

Datamation content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More

A USA Today/Gallup poll released this week finds strong consumer sentiment in favor of keeping advertisers from tracking their movements on the Web. The news comes at a time when U.S. lawmakers are considering so-called “Do Not Track” legislation that would set limits on how much personal information Web companies can collect on consumers as they surf the Web.

The Federal Trade Commission is considering a Do Not Track measure that would allow Internet users to essentially opt out of online tracking, in a way similar to the “Do Not Call” lists that limit telemarketing calls. In a recent editorial, AdWeek said such a measure would amount to an “apocalypse” for online advertisers given the fast-growing $1.1 billion industry relies on these tactics to track content to users.

In the poll results, 67 percent of Internet users said advertisers should not be allowed to match ads to specific interests based on based on websites the user visited. When asked if such matching, and potential invasion of privacy, was justified to keep access to websites free, some 61 percent said tracking wasn’t justified.

There was one bright spot for advertisers in the results. When given the choice, a majority of both young and affluent Americans say they would prefer to allow the advertisers of their choosing to target ads to them — rather than allow all or no advertisers to do so. Among all Internet users polled, 47 percent gave a preference for allowing advertisers of their choosing provide targeted ads. The oldest and least affluent Americans are the most likely to say they would prefer that no advertisers be allowed to target ads to them.

The survey report said the results show Internet users are overwhelmingly negative about whether it is OK for advertisers to use their online browsing history to target ads to them and suggested they would largely welcome regulation to limit the use of such tactics.

Another interesting aspect of the survey was that the vast majority of Internet users — including the young and the affluent coveted by advertisers – said they do not pay much attention to online ads, though many will admit they have noticed the specific, customized nature of the content.

In an “Implications” section, Gallup’s report concludes:

“Because young and affluent Internet users appear amenable to targeted advertising from the advertisers they specifically choose, advertisers may be best advised to consciously ask users if they are willing to get customized advertisements from them. Doing so would limit ads to those users want to see, thus likely increasing the amount of attention users pay to them and decreasing their displeasure with advertisers more broadly.”

A semantic ad targeting alternative

“The consumer has clearly spoken and the media is taking notice. It is now time for the industry to make a change,” Brooke Aker, chief marketing officer at semantic ad targeting firm ADmantSX, said in an email sent to InternetNews.com. “The opt-out concept continues to bypass privacy by unknowing consumers. An option of opt-in however, quells user fears and promotes an incentive for greater access to content should consumers make that choice.”

Aker said ADmantX, currently in beta, provides one alternative for advertisers, a service that looks strictly at the content on the page and analyzes it for people, places, things, emotions and motivations as the means for matching an ad.

“This is semantic targeting technology to the next level,” he said. “It is this nexus of content and ad that is at the heart of good online advertising and goes nowhere near ‘creepy’,” he said.

David Needle is the West Coast bureau chief at InternetNews.com, the news service of Internet.com, the network for technology professionals.

Ethics and Artificial Intelligence: Driving Greater Equality

FEATURE | By James Maguire,
December 16, 2020
AI vs. Machine Learning vs. Deep Learning

FEATURE | By Cynthia Harvey,
December 11, 2020
Huawei’s AI Update: Things Are Moving Faster Than We Think

FEATURE | By Rob Enderle,
December 04, 2020
Keeping Machine Learning Algorithms Honest in the ‘Ethics-First’ Era

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Guest Author,
November 18, 2020
Key Trends in Chatbots and RPA

FEATURE | By Guest Author,
November 10, 2020
Top 10 AIOps Companies

FEATURE | By Samuel Greengard,
November 05, 2020
What is Text Analysis?

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Guest Author,
November 02, 2020
How Intel’s Work With Autonomous Cars Could Redefine General Purpose AI

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Rob Enderle,
October 29, 2020
Dell Technologies World: Weaving Together Human And Machine Interaction For AI And Robotics

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Rob Enderle,
October 23, 2020
The Super Moderator, or How IBM Project Debater Could Save Social Media

FEATURE | By Rob Enderle,
October 16, 2020
Top 10 Chatbot Platforms

FEATURE | By Cynthia Harvey,
October 07, 2020
Finding a Career Path in AI

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Guest Author,
October 05, 2020
CIOs Discuss the Promise of AI and Data Science

FEATURE | By Guest Author,
September 25, 2020
Microsoft Is Building An AI Product That Could Predict The Future

FEATURE | By Rob Enderle,
September 25, 2020
Top 10 Machine Learning Companies 2021

FEATURE | By Cynthia Harvey,
September 22, 2020
NVIDIA and ARM: Massively Changing The AI Landscape

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Rob Enderle,
September 18, 2020
Continuous Intelligence: Expert Discussion [Video and Podcast]

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By James Maguire,
September 14, 2020
Artificial Intelligence: Governance and Ethics [Video]

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By James Maguire,
September 13, 2020
IBM Watson At The US Open: Showcasing The Power Of A Mature Enterprise-Class AI

FEATURE | By Rob Enderle,
September 11, 2020
Artificial Intelligence: Perception vs. Reality

FEATURE | By James Maguire,
September 09, 2020

SEE ALL
ARTICLES

David Needle

David Needle is a veteran technology reporter based in Silicon Valley. He covers mobile, big data, customer experience, and social media, among other topics. He was formerly news editor at Infoworld, editor of Computer Currents and TabTimes, and West Coast bureau chief for both InformationWeek and Internet.com.