VentureBeat - Latest Comments in Yahoo allows you to opt-out of contextual ads knowing you probably won’t

Re: Yahoo allows you to opt-out of contextual ads knowing you probably won’t

Guest — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 01:44:41 -0000

British law student sues Abercrombie-Fitch for disability discrimination.
http://www.abercrombieonsal...

Re: Yahoo allows you to opt-out of contextual ads knowing you probably won’t

TigerTom — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 15:29:50 -0000

Once again, politicians interfere in a business they don't understand. Nice news for all the webmasters for who Adsense is the 'dole'. I hope 'nitpicky' is right.

Re: Yahoo allows you to opt-out of contextual ads knowing you probably won’t

Nitpicky — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 21:04:00 -0000

MG --

Your article kinda misses the point.

The type of ad targeting that has raised the interest of Congress and the privacy community is NOT contextual targeting (which really doesn't raise any privacy issues at all), but rather BEHAVIORAL targeting.

Behavioral targeting is done by tracking your online activity, where you've surfed or what you've searched on, and then serving an ad that is targeted at YOU, based on this past activity. (The ad served to you may have nothing to do with the content of the page your on at the time.)

Yahoo's announcement today is important because it allow users to opt out of behavioral targeting. (It also seems to allow users to opt of of contextual targeting, too -- but that is less important.)