You have probably noticed it before. You are looking at shoes on, for example, wehkamp.nl. A few days later, you are checking the latest news on nu.nl, and those same shoes appear in an advertisement from Wehkamp. This is called remarketing. There is now a website where you can indicate whether or not you want to be tracked by this form of advertising. It turned out to be an immediate success, as the Do Not Track website was immediately overloaded.
Cookie policy
When you visit wehkamp.nl, as in the example above, this website places a cookie on your computer. Cookies are small text files that are stored (temporarily) on your computer when you visit a website. The cookie on your computer tracks you on the internet. As a result, you are confronted with advertisements from, in this case, wehkamp.nl on other websites.
The IAB
Until recently, you had no control over this. That has now changed. The iab (interactive advertising agency) has launched a Do Not Track register. The IAB is the trade association for the online advertising and interactive marketing industry. They have a membership list of 176 companies, including Microsoft, RTL Nederland, Wegener, and Google. The advertisements from these companies now feature an information icon. When you click on this, you are directed to a website that explains what cookies are and what they do on your computer. From that website, you can click through to the Do Not Track register.
Youronlinechoices.eu
The register can be found on the website. youronlinechoices.euHere you can see which companies are monitoring your browsing behavior and disable cookies. It immediately proved to be a resounding success. The register was completely overloaded on the very first day. Today, the website is accessible again.
The cookie law
The IAB is launching this initiative to persuade the House of Representatives to abandon the cookie law. This law states that internet users must indicate in advance whether or not they want to see advertisements. According to the IAB, this only causes irritation because you then have to indicate for every single advertisement whether you want to see it or not.
What is your opinion on this do-not-follow register?