The attack on Do Not Track

If your ability to make money hinges on keeping people in the dark, there's nothing quite so discombobulating as the prospect of someone turning on the light. Last week, the Federal Trade Commission recommended the establishment of a Do Not Track program for the Internet. The program would give people a simple way to block companies from collecting personal data about them, data that is today routinely collected and used for targeted, or "behavioral," advertising. The Do Not Track program, which in some ways would be similar to the popular Do Not Call program for blocking telemarketers, is part of...