| Yahoo! and Google install opt-out for targeted ads |
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| Tuesday, 02 September 2008 | |||||
Mind you, Google only allows to opt-out of the extra cookie they now also push into your computer for managing the DoubleClick platform, used to serve relevant ads across the network. If you don’t opt-out of it, this extra cookie is used to enable frequency capping, prevent click fraud, help generate ad reports and will also be used for research. The usual Google cookies still exist too, and you won’t be able to opt-out of those. Yahoo! on the other hand allows to opt-out completely, across the entire network, where before today opting-out only was available on third party sites. Yahoo! does this as a reaction to the congressional privacy letter they and 32 other internet companies received regarding the data they collect of their users. Even though a higher ad relevancy leads to higher click-throughs and higher conversions, Yahoo! doesn’t expect to lose any ad revenue. They feel comfortable their users will appreciate the option, and advertisers, according to Yahoo!, are looking for places where people are comfortable with targeted advertising. Yahoo! users will be able to opt-out using a link in a special Privacy Center, and Yahoo! will even go so far as to advertise the option across their network. The question is if sites like Facebook and Myspace, whose users profiles generally contain much more detailed information, will start doing the same. Advertising on such social networks can be targeted with a very high precision, ranging over such variables as region, sex and age, but also interests, hobbies, favourite movies and in general any keyword entered by the user into their profile. Users of social network media often also enter personal information, and ads could even be targeted beyond one user and spread towards friends of users, of who can be excpected they share the targeted users interests. Allowing to opt-out of targeted ads on these sites would dramatically decrease the advertising possibilities, which means they would lose advertising income for sure. As long as there are no strict rules as to how user information can or can’t be used, whatever makes most money will continue to be the norm.
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