Google Agrees to Join ‘Do-No-Track’ Button Industry Agreement

(Updates with initiative detail in second paragraph.)

Feb. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Google Inc. will allow a “do-not- track” button to be embedded in its Web browser, letting users restrict the amount of data that can be collected about them.

The world’s most popular search engine will join with other Web companies to support the anti-tracking initiative, which prevents an individual’s browsing history from being used to tailor ads, according to an e-mailed statement today.

“We’re pleased to join a broad industry agreement to respect the ‘do-not-track’ header in a consistent and meaningful way that offers users choice and clearly explained browser controls,” Google Senior Vice President of Advertising Susan Wojcicki said in the statement.

Google, based in Mountain View, California, joined the initiative as the Obama administration unveiled plans to give consumers more control over their personal information online. Congress should enact a privacy bill of rights for Web users, the administration said in a report released today.

Revelations about potential privacy vulnerabilities during the past year have spurred calls from regulators and lawmakers in Washington for stronger protections of personal data online and on Internet-connected mobile devices.

Google announced plans on Jan. 24 to unify privacy policies for products including YouTube videos and Android software for mobile phones, saying it will simplify conditions that users agree to.

Consumer Data

Google and Facebook, the world’s largest social network, are among Web companies facing scrutiny over their handling of consumer data used to power an online ad market projected to reach $39.5 billion in the U.S. this year, according to eMarketer Inc., a New York-based research firm.

The White House report sets broad principles for the use of personal information that include giving consumers control over what data is collected on them and how it is used; providing understandable privacy policies; and handling consumer data securely. The Commerce Department will meet with companies and privacy advocates to develop voluntary standards for businesses based on the principles.

--Editors: Simon Thiel, Robert Valpuesta.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan Browning in London at jbrowning9@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Kenneth Wong at kwong11@bloomberg.net

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Bharti Gains After Indian Tribunal Agrees to Hear 3G Disputes

December 26, 2011, 1:37 AM EST By Ketaki Gokhale

Dec. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Bharti Airtel Ltd. led shares of Indian telecommunications companies higher in Mumbai trading after a dispute tribunal put on hold a government order telling wireless providers to end some roaming agreements.

Bharti, India’s biggest wireless services provider, gained as much as 3.7 percent to 342.85 rupees and traded up 2.8 percent at 11:07 a.m. Idea Cellular Ltd. rose as much as 3.9 percent and Reliance Communications Ltd. advanced 2.6 percent.

The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal will hear the operators’ complaint against the government’s halting of 3G roaming services agreements on Jan. 3, Bloomberg UTV reported Dec. 24. New Delhi-based Bharti said last week it was “shocked” by a Department of Telecommunications order to end the roaming agreements that enable companies to offer 3G services where they don’t own spectrum.

“The fact that TDSAT is looking at it indicates they’re serious about it,” said Ankur Rudra, an analyst at Ambit Capital Pvt. in Mumbai. “The faster it gets sorted out, the better it is for the industry.”

The contracts between cellular-service providers are a “breach of rules” and must be stopped immediately, R. Chandrashekhar, secretary of the telecommunications department, told Bloomberg UTV. The government department hasn’t yet decided whether to impose a penalty on operators for violating license terms, Chandrasekhar said.

Justice S.B. Sinha, the New Delhi-based chairman of the tribunal, didn’t immediately answer calls to his office and residence.

--Editors: Anand Krishnamoorthy, Terje Langeland

To contact the reporter on this story: Ketaki Gokhale in Mumbai at kgokhale@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Tighe at mtighe4@bloomberg.net

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