[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          |  Resolution:
 Keywords:                  |     Focuses:  privacy
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Comment (by dmccan):

 "At what stage of the FLoC trial should WordPress consider taking any
 action?"

 As soon as possible.  One of the things that is broken about the Internet
 is user tracking and the loss of privacy.  When given the choice, users
 opt-out of tracking.  Here is an article reporting that 96% of US users
 opt-out of app tracking on their iPhones when given a choice:

 https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/05/96-of-us-users-opt-out-of-app-
 tracking-in-ios-14-5-analytics-find/

 Companies have already shown themselves adept at piecing together data
 from different sources to identify users. There is no track record showing
 this to be any different.  If after a few years Google is able to show
 that FLoC can enable targeted advertising without eroding user privacy
 then WordPress can reconsider.

 "What is the benefit of a broad provider-level opt-out versus the existing
 consumer opt-out?"

 There is no doubt that coming down on the side of user privacy vs user
 tracking is the right thing to do.  Which headline would we rather see "By
 default millions of WordPress websites are allowing users to be tracked"
 or "WordPress takes steps to block user tracking making millions of
 websites around the world safe to visit"?

 We already have a policy that "opt-in by default tracking" is not allowed
 in plugins hosted by WordPress.  This is because we recognize the
 responsibility and benefit of protecting user privacy.

 (Should that be "end user" instead of "consumer"?)

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Ticket URL: <https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/53069#comment:10>
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