IE9 to Let Users Block Tracking
The next version of Internet Explorer will let users turn on "tracking protection," a new mechanism that will block specified third-party sites from tracking users, Microsoft said.
The announcement comes just as the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has proposed that consumers be allowed to subscribe to a "do not track" system that is similar to the "do not call" lists that consumers join in order to block telemarketers.
To use the new IE9 feature, people will turn it on and then choose a list of sites to block. Anyone, including individuals, companies and consumer protection groups, can make such lists, and users can subscribe to as many as they please. "Tracking protection in IE9 puts people in control of what sites can get their data as they move around the Web," said Dean Hachamovitch, vice president of IE at Microsoft, during a web conference about the feature.
