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posted by janrinok on Sunday September 17 2017, @11:35PM   Printer-friendly
from the if-the-advertisers-don't-like-it,-it-sounds-like-a-good-idea dept.

Submitted via IRC for SoyCow5743

Apple's limits on tracking will "sabotage the economic model for the Internet."

Apple's latest operating systems for the Mac and iPhone will soon be rolling out, and with that comes new restrictions on ad-tracking in the Safari browser. Adding a 24-hour limit on ad targeting cookies is good for privacy under Apple's new "Intelligent Tracking Prevention" feature. But if you're an advertiser, the macOS High Sierra and iOS 11 Safari browsers spell gloom and doom for the Internet as we know it. The reason is because Safari is making it harder for advertisers to follow users as they surf the Internet—and that will dramatically reduce the normal bombardment of ads reflecting the sites Internet surfers have visited earlier. Six major advertising groups have just published an open letter blasting the new tracking restrictions Apple unveiled in June. They say they are "deeply concerned" about them:

The infrastructure of the modern Internet depends on consistent and generally applicable standards for cookies, so digital companies can innovate to build content, services, and advertising that are personalized for users and remember their visits. Apple's Safari move breaks those standards and replaces them with an amorphous set of shifting rules that will hurt the user experience and sabotage the economic model for the Internet.

Apple's unilateral and heavy-handed approach is bad for consumer choice and bad for the ad-supported online content and services consumers love. Blocking cookies in this manner will drive a wedge between brands and their customers, and it will make advertising more generic and less timely and useful.

The letter is signed by the American Association of Advertising Agencies, the American Advertising Federation, the Association of National Advertisers, the Data & Marketing Association, the Interactive Advertising Bureau, and the Network Advertising Initiative.

Source: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/09/ad-industry-deeply-concerned-about-safaris-new-ad-tracking-restrictions/


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  • (Score: 2) by Virindi on Monday September 18 2017, @02:01AM (3 children)

    by Virindi (3484) on Monday September 18 2017, @02:01AM (#569589)

    Consumers don't really love that garbage as much as the producers think they do.

    The whole root of the problem is that most of them do. It just makes life extra annoying for the rest of us.

    Starting Score:    1  point
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    Total Score:   2  
  • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday September 18 2017, @06:22AM (2 children)

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Monday September 18 2017, @06:22AM (#569645) Journal

    Really? Some people actually LIKE to be spammed? Maybe you're right - I don't hear a lot of people in day to day life bitching about advertising.

    Personally, when I want something, I research options using a search engine. I get very specific, and look at specifications. I don't just ask for a doodiddy - I search for doodiddies with capabilities A, B, and C. From there, I look at price ranges, and usually narrow things to mid-price range. I'm left with one to twelve choices, so I look again at specifications, and finally, I give a thought to appearances. "Oh, that one's perfect! Except, it looks like a huge hunk of shit. Choice number two actually looks cool, so I'll get that one."

    • (Score: 3, Informative) by Virindi on Monday September 18 2017, @07:12AM

      by Virindi (3484) on Monday September 18 2017, @07:12AM (#569654)

      Yeah that's not what the marketers want.

      The type of people they are after will see something, hear some hype about it, and start getting really excited about the item. They will start telling their friends how this item is so great and a really big step up from the items of the past. After a short time, they will no longer be able to contain themselves and will just buy it.

      In short, the behavior they are looking for is the pure emotional excitement about the idea of the thing. Rational analysis of options (or even if it is actually needed) doesn't come into the picture except as a skewed mental justification. Factors weighing against the purchase of the item are ignored. Realistic cost-benefit is never considered; the most rosy way to possibly view the situation is used, because the person is super excited about the item and trying to convince themselves to get it.

      Let's put it this way......I've seen this effect before :)

    • (Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Monday September 18 2017, @02:53PM

      by Grishnakh (2831) on Monday September 18 2017, @02:53PM (#569758)

      Really? Some people actually LIKE to be spammed? Maybe you're right - I don't hear a lot of people in day to day life bitching about advertising.

      Exactly. Most Americans actually like it, they just don't talk about it. But look at how many Americans 1) watch TV with ads, and don't bother to mute the ads, use a DVR, etc., and 2) use the internet without an ad-blocker. It's only a minority of people who don't like ads. They only start complaining if the ads get *so* onerous that they can't even do what they're trying to do (like back in the bad ol' days of the internet with pop-ups, where you'd get so many pop-ups that you couldn't close them all, couldn't even look at the site you're trying to look at, and it crashes your browser--THEN regular people actually started complaining about ads for a change).