Mozilla's Firefox has joined Microsoft Explorer in making "Do Not Track" the default setting on its browser and will block cookies unless a user wants them, according to various reports, which drew praise from one top legislator.
Mozilla already supported a voluntary icon-based "Do Not Track" initiative from the Digital Advertising Alliance, but the latest move takes it to another level, one digital advertisers don't like but is favored by some legislators, including Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W. Va.), chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee.
"This is welcome news from Mozilla," Rockefeller said in a statement. "It proves there's a market for giving consumers strong privacy protections, and demonstrates that developers are eager to do this when online advertisers fall short.
"With two major Web browsers now blocking third-party cookies by default, it's even more important to give businesses the regulatory certainty they need and consumers the privacy protections they deserve. I hope this will end the emerging back and forth so we can act quickly to pass new legislation."
In March, Rockefeller reintroduced legislation that would require companies that collect personal information online to get the affirmative permission of the person whose information is being collected.
