Earlier this week, Microsoft chief privacy officer Brendon Lynch wrote a blog post on the company's legal site where he described how Windows 8 users will set up Internet Explorer 10. Specifically, he talked about how choosing “Express Settings” will enable the "Do Not Track" option for IE 10. Lynch also said IE 10 users will be given the option to turn off Do Not Track if they wish in the "Customize" menu.
This blog post didn't sit well with Internet advertising companies, which have already been critical of Microsoft's approach with IE 10. Those same ad companies have claimed that this setting on the web browser would "undercut thriving business models, and reduce the availability and diversity of the Internet products and services."
In a separate blog post this week on Microsoft's Privacy and Safety website, Lynch expands on the company's feelings on this subject, saying, "In short, we agree with those who say this is all about user choice. However, we respectfully disagree with those who argue that the default setting for DNT should favor tracking as opposed to privacy."
Lynch also said that an earlier claim that the World Wide Web Consortium had rejected the idea that the default Do No Track standard for web browsers would violate its standards was false. Lynch said, "More precisely, the specification has not been completed by the Working Group, and there is no official DNT standard today. We believe the W3C working group should continue to develop this standard."
Lynch said that Microsoft is "firmly committed" to working with the W3C to help them create policies that would govern Do Not Track set ups in web browsers. Indeed, he says that Microsoft itself will host the next W3C meeting in September.
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