As industry standards evolve, how we implement those standards evolve as well. So to reflect the current requirements of the privacy standard for tracking preferences,
Microsoft is changing how Do Not Track (DNT) is implemented in future versions of our browsers: We will no longer enable it as the default state in Windows Express Settings.
While our implementation of DNT two years ago in Internet Explorer 10 (IE 10) was welcomed by many, others voiced concerns, especially given that discussions were underway at the time to establish an industrywide standard for user tracking preferences.
Since then, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has continued to refine language to address how users express a preference regarding tracking. The latest
draft of the standard reads:
Key to that notion of expression is that the signal sent MUST reflect the user’s preference, not the choice of some vendor, institution, site, or network-imposed mechanism outside the user’s control; this applies equally to both the general preference and exceptions. The basic principle is that a tracking preference expression is only transmitted when it reflects a deliberate choice by the user. In the absence of user choice, there is no tracking preference expressed. (Emphasis added.)
