Microsoft to Add 'Tracking Protection' to Web Browser

By NICK WINGFIELD

Microsoft Corp. said it will include a privacy feature in its Internet Explorer that would let users list websites that can't track them. It is similar to a key feature it dropped in an earlier version of the Web browser after a heated debate with advertisers.

The Redmond, Wash., company said a new version of the browser, Internet Explorer 9, will allow users to subscribe to "tracking protection lists," which are lists of Web addresses that users don't want to share information with. The lists would prevent online- tracking companies from snooping on consumers' browsing habits.

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..The lists will be composed by privacy groups and other outsiders who identify the Web addresses that tracking companies operate from, and the lists can be updated regularly with fresh Web addresses to block, Microsoft said.

The feature is similar to a capability called InPrivate Subscriptions that Microsoft considered about two years ago for its Internet Explorer 8.

The Wall Street Journal reported in a front-page article earlier this year that InPrivate Subscriptions and another privacy feature called InPrivate Filtering were either removed or scaled back in the final version of the product after online advertisers expressed concerns about the capabilities in a series of discussions with Microsoft executives.

Last week the Federal Trade Commission called for development of a "do not track" system that would enable people to avoid having their actions monitored online.

Jon Leibowitz, chairman of the FTC, applauded Microsoft's decision and called on others to follow suit in a statement Tuesday. "Now others in both the browser and advertising communities need to step up and develop technologies including implementing a Do-Not-Track option," Mr. Leibowitz said.

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