Monday, June 04, 2012
Tough Choice
The online advertising industry is facing a tough choice after Microsoft's announcement that the newest edition of its browser will implement "Do Not Track" by default. What does the industry do? Fight it and look like an ogre invading privacy? Go along with the decision and watch analytics go out the window? The future of the industry is teetering on the decision. From a PR perspective, there is no good choice. Regulators and consumers favor increased privacy. About the best the industry can do is to appeal to consumers that it is in the their best interests for tracking to occur and to explain why forcefully . That might work in the US. It won't in Europe where privacy concerns are much stronger. If Microsoft's newest browser edition is successful, other browser developers such as Google might be forced to go along. And what would that do to Google? Damage its business. This is a time when PR may be the difference between success or failure of companies.
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