FTC wants a tracking cookie that disables other tracking cookies, to fight fire with fire
We're not sure that fighting fire with fire actually works outside of the metaphorical realm, but don't let us tell the FTC how to do its thing. The federal body, which recently told Google "it's all good" after the company apologized for stealing people's private infos, is now asking for social networking sites and browser developers to create a sort of "do not track" cookie system. If this cookie was present the sites would not capture a user's browsing habits and not deliver customized ads, a cookie that would be created and enabled by a simple browser button. As of now the FTC is not mandating anything, but did deliver this passive-aggressive threat:
So there you have it: start playing nice, companies, or the FTC might possibly do something. Meanwhile, we might possibly eat the cute looking gingerbread man in the middle up there. He sure looks tasty.

[Image courtesy of Fagles]