The Privacy Commissioner of Canada Jennifer Stoddart.has launched new guidelines on online behavioral advertising which aim to set out restrictions on the tracking of children and tracking technologies that people can’t turn off.  Behavioral advertising involves tracking consumers’ online activities over time, in order to deliver advertisements that are targeted to their inferred interests.

“The use of online behavioral advertising has exploded and we’re concerned that Canadians’ privacy rights aren’t always being respected. Advertisers who use targeted online ads need to be upfront with Canadians about what they’re doing and must make it easy for people to say No to being tracked”, says Commissioner Stoddart.

The new guidance document says information about behavioral advertising should be clear, obvious and understandable.  Accepting participation in online behavioral advertising should not be considered a condition for people to use the Internet generally.  People must be able to easily opt out of this practice.

The guidelines, similar to those implemented in many western countries state including:

- If an individual can’t say no to the technology being used for tracking or targeting, then the industry shouldn’t use that technology for behavioral advertising purposes... that means no use of web bugs or web beacons, no super cookies, no pixel hacks, no device fingerprinting and no to any new covert tracking technique of which the user is unaware and has no reasonable way to decline.”

- that organizations should avoid knowingly tracking children and tracking on websites aimed at children. Children are not likely able to provide the meaningful consent required under our privacy law for the tracking of their online activities.

- advertisers should avoid collecting other sensitive information, such as individuals’ health information.

You need to turn off the tracking in your browser settings or preferences!

While the guidelines may be a necessary formality, Google, Microsoft and Mozilla have already responded to calls from the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and consumer watchdogs for a "do not track" option that allows Web surfers to protect their private information from being exploited by advertising networks. The major Web browser makers have decided it’s in their best interest to offer such options, even if it comes at the expense of some revenue generated by ads that use online behavior data to target consumers.

Bigger Threat... We need a plug-in for these guys!

Jennifer Stoddart, recently voiced her “deep concerns” about new surveillance powers proposed by the Canadian Government, and noted that it has so far failed to demonstrate why this is the best course of action. “Despite repeated calls, no systematic case has yet been made to justify the extent of the new investigative capabilities that would have been created by the bill,” she stated.

The changes eyed by the Government, spread out over three bills in the last Parliament, would also have given police greater power to obtain data gathered by Internet service providers. “These bills went far beyond simply maintaining investigative capacity or modernizing search powers,” says Ms. Stoddart.

“Rather, they added significant new capabilities for investigators to track, and search and seize digital information about individuals.”

One piece of legislation that will likely be revived, the Investigative Powers for the 21st Century Act, would have required Internet service providers to install surveillance technology on their networks.

It also would have forced mandatory disclosure of customer information on demand and without court oversight. This would obliged all ISPs to surrender customer details to the police including names, addresses, email address as well as the unique identifier number that every computer connection to the Internet is assigned.

“These bills went far beyond simply maintaining investigative capacity or modernizing search powers,” Ms. Stoddart said. “Rather, they added significant new capabilities for investigators to track, and search and seize digital information about individuals. “

Ms. Stoddart said Ottawa should consider alternatives to the changes they are planning.