Bill heading to Congress that could change the web & your privacy

According to studies, most of you do not block 3rd parties from viewing your online surfing habits. Do you care about your privacy? Do you know everything you do online can be tracked? Do you care who has that info?

Great article at Poynter Online about an upcoming Bill including links to get you thinking about your privacy while surfing:

The crux of Boucher's bill for the advertising industry is a plan to prevent Web sites from sharing information with "unrelated third parties.

And:

"Congress' position is that consumers are not appropriately aware of what is being done on their machines, and the use of cookies delivered by a third party is something consumers have not been appropriately informed of," Simulmedia CEO Dave Morgan, who heads the Interactive Advertising Bureau's privacy committee, said in June after meeting with Congressional staffers.

He was on the opposite side of the debate from Wise at the conference, and he pointed out how much data is collected and shared -- everything from our bank account and credit card balances to the pharmaceuticals we've purchased -- without our knowledge.

Firefox, as an example, has features like blocking of 3rd party tracking and private browsing:

Customized Security Settings

Control the level of scrutiny you’d like Firefox to give a site and enter exceptions—sites that don’t need the third degree. Customize settings for passwords, cookies, loading images and installing add-ons for a fully empowered Web experience.