Microsoft to Build Anti-Tracking Privacy Option Into IE9

Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 9 Web browser will be equipped with a feature called Tracking Protection when it will be released next year in beta. The browser will \ allow users greater control over what widgets and scripts are displayed and what information and data they can pull when users visit a website. Announcement of the new feature comes shortly after the FTC has proposed such a measure and legislatures are focusing more on Internet privacy, especially where minors are involved. The IE9 Tracking Protection will be in line with the “Do Not Track” option proposed by the FTC. Once Tracking Protection is turned on and enabled, users can create a tracking list and publish them on the Web where other users can subscribe to the list, like an RSS subscription, and opt out of tracking for the same sites. “These are complementary approaches, and different ways to get to the same goal of helping consumers block tracking,” said Dean Hachamovitch, the company’s vice president in charge of IE development. “This path is different in that it actually blocks the tracking now.”