[OPLIN 4cast] OPLIN 4Cast #323: Cookies from the third party

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OPLIN 4Cast

OPLIN 4Cast #323: Cookies from the third party
February 27th, 2013

cookieYou may have seen some headlines last week about plans for the 
Firefox browser to start blocking "third-party" cookies. In a previous 
4cast <http://www.oplin.org/4cast/?p=2179> we've talked about "zombie" 
cookies, and now it seems there are also party cookies, some of which 
apparently need blocking. As it happens, Apple's Safari browser has been 
blocking third-party cookies by default for over a decade, causing some 
companies (and even some Safari users) to search for workarounds. So 
what's all the fuss about?

  * Firefox to follow Safari, start blocking cookies from third-party
    advertisers
    <http://www.theverge.com/2013/2/23/4023078/firefox-to-start-blocking-cookies-from-third-party-advertisers>
    (The Verge/Jeff Blagdon) "A cookie is a digital identifier that
    allows a site to store information about you pseudonymously, like
    the contents of your online shopping cart. By setting cookies, a
    third-party ad network can track users' browsing activity across all
    the sites on which it serves ads, forming the basis for what's
    called Online Behavioral Advertising (OBA), or the selling of
    targeted ads to individual users."
  * Ad networks beware: Firefox to block third-party cookies
    <http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/ad-networks-beware-firefox-block-third-party-cookies-147513>
    (Adweek/Katy Bachman) "In practice, both Google Chrome and Microsoft
    Internet Explorer allow third-party cookies. How much impact
    Firefox's new policy will have on online behavior advertising is
    hard to estimate; Firefox has about 20 to 30 percent of browswers.
    The big question is whether Microsoft and Google, the big two
    companies that depend on online advertising, will follow suit.
    Microsoft last year raised the ire of the advertising community by
    rolling out a default Do Not Track browser header, which sends a
    signal to third parties not to track users. However, the ad
    community said it would not honor
    <http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/advertisers-microsoft-reverse-course-do-not-track-browser-144109>
    the setting."
  * Firefox 22 will block third-party cookies
    <http://arstechnica.com/business/2013/02/firefox-22-will-block-third-party-cookies/>
    (Ars Technica/Megan Geuss) "The balance between user privacy and
    money from advertisers has been difficult to strike. Last February,
    the US suggested companies agree to an 'Internet Privacy Agreement'
    that would protect users who added themselves to a 'Do Not Track'
    list. Despite the publication of that agreement, little real change
    has occurred in companies' practices."
  * The new Firefox cookie policy
    <http://webpolicy.org/2013/02/22/the-new-firefox-cookie-policy/>
    (Web Policy/Jonathan Mayer) "If a Firefox user appears to have
    intentionally interacted with your content, take the same approach
    as for Safari users. Examples of content within this category
    include Facebook apps and comment widgets where a user has typed
    text. If a user does not seem to have intentionally interacted with
    your content, or if you're uncertain, you should ask for permission
    before setting cookies. Most analytics services, advertising
    networks, and unclicked social widgets would come within this category."

*/Helpful fact:/*

Anant Garg has blogged a nice explanation (with diagrams) of how 
third-party cookies work, "Busting the cookies and privacy myth 
<http://anantgarg.com/2012/02/18/busting-the-cookies-and-privacy-myth/>."
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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