White House to keep using Web tracking
The White House said Friday its Web site will keep using Internet tracking technologies, deciding that they aren’t prohibited after all under 2003 federal privacy guidelines.
The White House’s site uses what’s known as a Web bug — a tiny graphic image that’s virtually invisible — to anonymously keep track of who’s visiting and when. The bug is sent by a server maintained by an outside contractor, WebTrends Inc., and lets the traffic-analysis company know that another person has visited a specific page on the site.
Web bugs themselves are not prohibited. But under a directive from the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, they are largely banned at government sites when linked to cookies, which are data files that let a site track Web visitors.
Source: MSNBC.
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