[IP] more on The Whitehouse Web site is bugged

[David Farber <dave@farber.net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Guy Creese <guy.creese@ballardvale.com>
Date: December 28, 2005 4:13:10 PM EST
To: "'David Farber'" <dave@farber.net>
Subject: RE: The Whitehouse Web site is bugged
Reply-To: guy.creese@ballardvale.com



This is quoting out of context to grab headlines.

The OMB memo (http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/memoranda/m00-13.html),  
which
Mr. Smith quotes and then cuts off before it gets to the important part,
says, "Under this new Federal policy, "cookies" should not be used at
Federal web sites, or by contractors when operating web sites on  
behalf of
agencies, unless, in addition to clear and conspicuous notice, the  
following
conditions are met: a compelling need to gather the data on the site;
appropriate and publicly disclosed privacy safeguards for handling of
information derived from "cookies"; and personal approval by the head  
of the
agency."

The White House's Web site (http://www.whitehouse.gov/privacy.html)  
is very
clear about what information it gathers and why, pointing out that if  
you
just browse the site it does not gather personal information, and  
that it
gathers general information about browsing on the Web site to improve  
user
experience.

Performing Web analytics on a large Web site is not atypical, it's  
the norm.
Given that the White House Web site gets a good amount of traffic,  
I'm glad
they're watching traffic trends and presumably tweaking the site.  If  
our
government is to be more accessible to its citizens, a well-designed Web
site is certainly an important part of that effort.

Guy Creese, Managing Principal
Ballardvale Research -- Counsel for Online Best Practices
http://www.ballardvale.com
guy.creese@ballardvale.com
(978) 764-3262

Columnist for DMReview.com
Co-Chair, Standards Committee, Web Analytics Association
Blogger for Ballardvale Blog and EphBlog

-----Original Message-----
From: David Farber [mailto:dave@farber.net]
Sent: Tuesday, December 27, 2005 6:40 PM
To: Ip Ip
Subject: The Whitehouse Web site is bugged



Begin forwarded message:

From: "Richard M. Smith" <rms@computerbytesman.com>
Date: December 27, 2005 11:43:49 AM EST
To: EPIC_IDOF@mailman.epic.org
Subject: [EPIC_IDOF] The Whitehouse Web site is bugged

Hi,

The Whitehouse.gov Web site is bugged!  Apparently the Webmaster for the
site has hired Webtrends to track visitors around the site using Web
bugs
and permanent cookies.  Here's the Web bug that I found on the home
page of
the Whitehouse.gov Web site:

<SCRIPT src="/js/stat.js" language="javascript"
TYPE="text/javascript"></SCRIPT>
<NOSCRIPT>
<IMG ALT="" BORDER="0" NAME="DCSIMG" WIDTH="1" HEIGHT="1"
SRC="http://statse.webtrendslive.com/DCSArO55rNH8I36lrbe6wexE5_5B8I/
njs.gif?
dcsuri=/nojavascript&amp;WT.js=No">
</NOSCRIPT>

Similar Web bugs can be found on other Web pages at the Whitehouse
Web site.

Before 9/11, the Clinton administration said this kind of Web
tracking is a
no-no for U.S. government Web sites:

    http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/memoranda/m00-13.html

    Because of the unique laws and traditions about
    government access to citizens' personal information,
    the presumption should be that "cookies" will not be
    used at Federal web sites. Under this new Federal policy,
    "cookies" should not be used at Federal web sites, or
    by contractors when operating web sites on behalf of
    agencies, unless, in addition to clear and conspicuous
    notice, the following conditions are met: a compelling
    need to gather the data on the site;

Richard M. Smith
http://www.ComputerBytesMan.com
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