AVG is adding active "Do Not Track" technology to its security software. Do not Track will be the default setting in AVG's 2012 product and in the updated AVG’s free and paid 2012 Service Pack. Users can modify the setting from within the user interface.

FTC's Final Report

The announcement dovetails the final report released by the Federal Trade Commission on Monday regarding privacy.  In it, it calls on Congress to enact privacy legislation. It also asks companies to make simpler and more transparent privacy options for consumers.

It also references the progress made on Do not Track, pointing to those browser vendors that have developed tools to allow consumers to limit data collection about them. It also noted that the Digital Advertising Alliance has developed its own icon-based system and the World Wide Web Consortium standards-setting body is developing standards.

"The Commission will work with these groups to complete implementation of an easy-to-use, persistent, and effective Do Not Track system," the report says.

The final privacy report expands on a preliminary staff report the FTC issued in December 2010. It does not carry the force of law.

A Voluntary Measure

It is perhaps that last point driving the development of AVG’s Do Not Track default setting. Passive “Do Not Track” was introduced by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and relies on users’ voluntary adherence to this feature notification, it said. "…because compliance is voluntary, it doesn’t give the consumer real control over data collection."