ndm article

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/nov/28/europe-privacy-war-websites-silently-tracking-users

Europe’s next privacy war is with websites silently tracking users



This article is about how device fingerprinting has allowed companies to silently track users.

• The new opinion dictates that “device fingerprinting” – a process of silently collecting information about a user – requires the same level of consent as cookies that are used to track users across the internet.
• Now that Article 29 has published explicit opinion on device fingerprinting techniques it has laid the ground work for developing new legislation to govern their use and protect user privacy.
• Ultimately the regulation of device fingerprinting will fall to the individual data regulators in each country.
• Until now, device fingerprinting has been considered separate from the European legislation that covers cookies, which requires companies that store small bits of information on a users computer for storing settings and identity to explicitly ask for consent.

In my opinion companies should not be allowed to track users without them knowing as this is an offence against the individuals privacy.