Firefox and IE9 will soon include Do-Not-Track, but what constitutes “tracking” isn’t officially defined. The Center for Democracy and Technology issued this proposal (link):
Tracking is the collection and correlation of data about the Internet activities of a particular user, computer, or device, over time and across non-commonly branded websites, for any purpose other than fraud prevention or compliance with law enforcement requests.
Some obvious questions surround the meaning of correlation, fraud and verification.
Good point Jim. The problem we face is that ‘tracking’, per se, isn’t bad. It is the misuse of that data that becomes problematic. I do like the FTC’s definition of when tracking is bad…that is that our concern should be when the behavior causes “physical security, economic injury, and unwanted intrusions into our daily lives.”