[wp-trac] [WordPress Trac] #53069: Consider implications of FLoC and any actions to be taken on the provider (WordPress) front

[WordPress Trac]

#53069: Consider implications of FLoC and any actions to be taken on the provider
(WordPress) front
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 Reporter:  helen           |      Owner:  (none)
     Type:  task (blessed)  |     Status:  new
 Priority:  normal          |  Milestone:  5.8
Component:  General         |    Version:
 Severity:  normal          |   Keywords:
  Focuses:  privacy         |
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 This is a tracking ticket to recognize the [https://web.dev/floc/ FLoC
 project and Origin Trial], monitor its progress, and discuss any actions
 that WordPress core should take and the implementation details of such.
 "Provider" refers to the side that is serving the site (CMS, publisher,
 site admin, etc.) and "consumer" refers to the side viewing the site
 (browser, reader, etc.).

 For a high-level overview, FLoC (Federated Learning of Cohorts) is a
 Chrome-based initiative to calculate a cohort (henceforth referred to as
 "bucket") on the browser side for a user based on their browsing activity.
 It is meant as a replacement for third-party cookies typically used for ad
 targeting, providing what is supposed to be a somewhat more anonymous
 bucket of thousands of users to serve as a target rather than you as an
 individual. It is currently in an "origin trial" phase, in which some
 users are opted in via their usage of Chrome.

 The current stated intention is for sites not to be included in the
 calculation of which bucket a user/browser instance is assigned to unless
 they specifically call the FLoC API or contain [ad resources
 https://twitter.com/rowan_m/status/1383380295336878091], noting that
 third-party JS, such as may come with an oEmbed, can also call the FLoC
 API and cause a page/site to be included in the calculation. Sites can
 explicitly opt-out of being included in calculations regardless of the
 content by sending a header. Whether this current intention remains true
 is one item to be monitored.

 Some things that likely need discussion include but are certainly not
 limited to:
 * At what stage of the FLoC trial should WordPress consider taking any
 action?
 * What level of user education should WordPress provide, either in-admin
 or beyond? Does this education need to extend to general advice on how to
 vet third-party embeds which are a potential entry point?
 * If WordPress were to send the explicit opt-out header by default, what
 sort of impact would this have on individual users (both providers and
 consumers) and ad/targeting technology at large?
 * What is the benefit of a broad provider-level opt-out versus the
 existing consumer opt-out?
 * How are folks thinking of opt-in vs. opt-out, since you could consider
 this opting out of using a technology or enforcing an opt-in only model?

-- 
Ticket URL: <https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/53069>
WordPress Trac <https://core.trac.wordpress.org/>
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