"No Associated Harm?"
jwz shares this delightful and disturbing "debate" about the Do Not Track feature of browsers. When someone proposed "marketing" be allowed on a list of "Permitted Uses for Third Parties and Service Providers" in future standards definitions, a few expressed confusion. This prompted Marketer Rage-On:
Marketing fuels the world. It is as American as apple pie and delivers relevant advertising to consumers about products they will be interested at a time they are interested. DNT should permit it as one of the most important values of civil society. Its byproduct also furthers democracy, free speech, and - most importantly in these times - JOBS. It is as critical to society - and the economy - as fraud prevention and IP protection and should be treated the same way.
Marketing as a permitted use would allow the use of the data to send relevant offers to consumers through specific devices they have used. The data could not be used for other purposes, such as eligibility for employment, insurance, etc. Thus, we move to a harm consideration. Ads and offers are just offers - users/consumers can simply not respond to those offers - there is no associated harm.
(Yup. I emphasized his stupidity.)
The Do Not Track feature was implemented for privacy and security-conscious people, yes, but it should have been motivated by the public's healthy desire to etch the emboldened phrase on a burred piece of rough-cut steel and have that shoved up the ass of the author above while at least a hundred people shouted "Bullshit!" in unison.
There is harm in advertising. There is harm. It hurts enough to have it stop.
Marketing fuels the world. It is as American as apple pie and delivers relevant advertising to consumers about products they will be interested at a time they are interested. DNT should permit it as one of the most important values of civil society. Its byproduct also furthers democracy, free speech, and - most importantly in these times - JOBS. It is as critical to society - and the economy - as fraud prevention and IP protection and should be treated the same way.
Marketing as a permitted use would allow the use of the data to send relevant offers to consumers through specific devices they have used. The data could not be used for other purposes, such as eligibility for employment, insurance, etc. Thus, we move to a harm consideration. Ads and offers are just offers - users/consumers can simply not respond to those offers - there is no associated harm.
(Yup. I emphasized his stupidity.)
The Do Not Track feature was implemented for privacy and security-conscious people, yes, but it should have been motivated by the public's healthy desire to etch the emboldened phrase on a burred piece of rough-cut steel and have that shoved up the ass of the author above while at least a hundred people shouted "Bullshit!" in unison.
There is harm in advertising. There is harm. It hurts enough to have it stop.