AdTruth Becomes Member of W3C to Champion "Do Not Track" Standard Development

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ., Jan. 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- In conjunction with Data Privacy Day, AdTruth™ – a division of 41st Parameter and the global leader of cookie-free, pro-privacy device recognition – today announced it has become a member of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). AdTruth has joined the organization's Tracking Protection Working Group to help drive the W3C's efforts to balance users' privacy preferences with their desire for a personalized Web experience.

With privacy concerns continually increasing, the W3C is committed to providing a wide range of stakeholders – including browser vendors, content providers, advertisers, search engine companies and others – with guidance for implementing and adhering to "Do Not Track" (DNT) policies. AdTruth has made protecting consumer privacy one of its core values and active participation in the W3C's efforts is a natural fit for the company.

"Privacy is an incredibly important topic for us and we fully support efforts to ensure its protection," said Geoff Gieron, business development strategist for AdTruth. "It can be a daunting topic for companies and consumers when you consider all of the regulations, policies and approaches that can be applied. The W3C is the body for helping the industry identify the best and most effective privacy practices and we're committed to helping develop a complete and comprehensive approach to DNT. "

According to Aleecia M. McDonald, of Mozilla and co-chair of the W3C Tracking Protection Working Group, AdTruth brings an important perspective to the conversation. "AdTruth took a leadership role as the first device identification technology provider to honor the Do Not Track header.  AdTruth contributes another vibrant voice in the multi-stakeholder effort to define the W3C standard for Do Not Track." Mozilla has recognized and noted AdTruth's pro-privacy efforts in their privacy blog.

AdTruth's technology is based on more than seven years of research and development. It is currently used by several of the leading players in the digital advertising industry globally to improve the effectiveness of their campaigns while upholding consumer privacy. In the cases where people elect to opt out of tracking all together, AdTruth honors the Do Not Track HTTP header (DNT:1), ensuring that consumer privacy requests are respected.

Companies interested in exploring the benefits of the technology should contact AdTruth at [email protected].

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is an international consortium where Member organizations, a full-time staff, and the public work together to develop Web standards. W3C primarily pursues its mission through the creation of Web standards and guidelines designed to ensure long-term growth for the Web.

About AdTruth
Born of the inherent tension between tracking online behavior for improved advertising performance and the privacy concerns of regulators and consumers, AdTruth delivers a solution uniquely able to satisfy all parties. AdTruth's device recognition technology – which has been used to identify billions of devices – augments cookie-based tracking technologies without collecting any personally identifiable information (PII) or leaving anything on a user's device. AdTruth works on all Internet connected devices including PCs, laptops, gaming consoles, home appliances and mobile devices – such as smartphones and tablets – to increase audience recognition effectiveness for tracking, targeting and retargeting. For more information about AdTruth, visit www.adtruth.com.

SOURCE AdTruth