(Still courtesy Columbia Pictures)
Are you one of those internet-savvy people who click the “Do Not Track Me” button in your browser settings in the slim hope that your wishes might be respected?
Well, tough — because the FCC doesn’t care any more than Google or Facebook do:
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Friday dismissed a petition that would have required some of Web’s largest firms, including Facebook, Google and Netflix, to honor “Do Not Track” signals from consumers’ browsers.
“The Commission has been unequivocal in declaring that it has no intent to regulate edge providers,” the FCC declared in the Nov. 6 order (download PDF) that dismissed demands from the California-based consumer advocacy group, Consumer Watchdog.
Just install the Ghostery extension to your favorite browser, and then it won’t matter anymore what Google or Facebook want to do with your clicks. You’ll even find that your browser speed improves — sometimes significantly.
One word of warning though. Ghostery breaks the functionality of some shopping sites, so you’ll have to whitelist them when you encounter problems. Or just pause Ghostery until you’re finished shopping.
And maybe give Facebook the solo finger salute when you do.
