• June 1, 2012

The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) has weighed in on Microsoft’s decision to embed "Do Not Track" functionality in version 10 of its Internet Explorer browser with a default setting in the on vs. off position. The ad industry group says the default harms marketers’ effectiveness and productivity in reaching consumers and customers; elevates the cost of business for all marketers that want to leverage the Internet as an innovative business platform and consumer / customer communications channel; removes choice in exposure to interest-based advertising and decisions "the result of which will be untargeted, irrelevant online advertising," says the group.

The ANA says the plan also defenestrates the industry's self-regulatory program developed over the past three-and-a-half years by the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA). In addition to the ANA, the DAA comprises groups like the American Association of Advertising Agencies, the American Advertising Federation, the Direct Marketing Association, the Interactive Advertising Bureau and the Network Advertising Initiative, in conjunction with the Council of Better Business Bureaus.
 
Said ANA CEO Bob Liodice in a statement: “Microsoft, which had been an active participant in the DAA’s finely tuned Self-Regulatory Program regarding data collection and interest-based advertising, acted irresponsibly through its unilateral action to embed ‘Do Not Track’ functionality into Internet Explorer 10 with a default setting in the ‘on’ position.”

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