Re: ISSUE-5: Consensus definition of "tracking" for the intro?

On Oct 15, 2013, at 15:04 , David Wainberg <dwainberg@appnexus.com> wrote:

> Hi David,
> 
> On 2013-10-15 5:30 PM, David Singer wrote:
>>     "Tracking is the retention or use by a site outside the first party, after a network transaction is complete, of data that is, or can be, associated with a specific user, user agent, or device."
> This might imply that the first party can use the data in a third party context.

That's why I preferred to leave the party out of the definition, and then express what the rules were for handling tracking data, for first and third parties separately, later.  But as I say if this causes confusion, and if it's to be a 'roughly, tracking is…' definition, I can live with it being part of the definition.

> Also, mixing site and party might be confusing. 

Well, the transaction as such is between a site and a user.  That's why I wrote it that way, but perhaps again if it's clearer "by a party other than the first party".


> Perhaps it would be clearer to say:
> 
>  "Tracking is the retention or use by a party outside the first party context, after a network transaction is complete, of data that is, or can be, associated with a specific user, user agent, or device."
> That said, I also prefer a definition that specifies the data as "browsing history" or "browsing activity," such as Alan's proposal. 

But then you have to define 'browsing history', which I think is difficult (and dangerous).  Of course, it's data resulting from browsing that forms the basis (that's what starts the whole thing), but if you interact with a third party that works out "David Wainberg was in San Francisco on September the 15th", is that remembering your 'browsing history' or not?

> 
> btw, aren't there 1 or 2 proposals missing from the wiki?

The attempts at consensus since the call for proposals closed don't appear, true, but surely everything up to then does (if it was submitted as a proposal)?


> 
> -David

David Singer
Multimedia and Software Standards, Apple Inc.

Received on Tuesday, 15 October 2013 22:14:37 UTC