‘Do-Not-Track’ Privacy Setting Gets Legal Backing in Germany
KritonK writes:
As reported on the Vivaldi browser blog:
Just when you thought the Do-Not-Track (DNT) privacy setting was gathering dust, a court in Berlin, Germany decided to exhume it. The Berlin Regional court ruled in favor of the Federation of German Consumer Organization (Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband, vzbv), in their lawsuit against LinkedIn for ignoring users who had enabled 'Do-Not-Track' in their browsers. According to the German judge, companies must respect DNT settings under the General Data Protection Regulation or GDPR.
Different from the highly intrusive, often full-screen, GDPR consent pop-ups that need to be addressed on each website you visit, DNT is a single setting in your web browser that works across all websites.
In a time where your every click is often scrutinized for data collection or targeted ads, DNT puts the power of privacy back in your hands. With this privacy flag, you're able to browse the web on your terms while not having to worry about who gets access to your personal information in the process.
Ideally, websites should only prompt for permissions contextually. For instance, it makes sense to ask for permissions to share data with YouTube when you click play on an embedded YouTube video. Also, well-designed websites would ideally host videos themselves or use embedding services that offer more control over privacy and data collection than Google and its services.
Also, DNT does have its limitations because of its voluntary nature because at the end of the day, websites can choose whether or not to respect your request. It creates a scenario similar to having a 'Keep Out' sign - some will respect the warning and others will ignore it.
However, in light of the recent ruling in the Berlin Regional Court against LinkedIn, this is a huge turning point in the DNT initiative. This means LinkedIn can no longer ignore its users' tracking preferences.
This ruling potentially creates a legal implication that a DNT signal is legally binding and must be respected by websites.
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