Feds May Soon Be Allowed To Use Cookies

fast66 writes "The White House may lift its policy barring federal Web sites from tracking users' online behavior. In place since 2000, the cookie policy issued by the Office of Management and Budget was intended to protect citizen privacy but has sparked criticism — even from White House officials — for hampering citizen outreach. On Friday, Bev Godwin, the director of online resources and interagency development at the White House's new media office, blogged on the White House Web site, 'We want to use cookies for good, not evil' — and invited the public to comment on cookies through various online channels, including the Office of Science and Technology Policy blog."

Well...

[Rewind]

The Cookie monster will most certainly be displeased...

What?

[arizwebfoot]

We want to use cookies for good, not evil' â" and invited the public to comment on cookies

Isn't that like a double oxymoron?

White House good.
Public comment evil.

We're donediddily done for

[hugi]

yup, now our privacy is completely gone. I heard ECHELON is mostly based on cookies.

Whew, that was a close one

[Hojima]

Thanks for telling me this. You see, I am an inept and computer illiterate terrorist. We all are, since none of us are smart enough to get an education. Hell, I barely managed to read this web page, and all my dumb terrorist buddies simply couldn't. We go to www.I-AM-A-TERRORIST.com all the time, and if I didn't get the heads-up, we would all be in jail now. You guys were smart to allocate resources to this sure-fire way to catch us. Oh well, time to get back to using the internet for evil, not good.

Re:No problem

[Anonymous Coward]

Obama will appoint a "Cookie Czar" and pay him $75k a year to decide IF you get one or DON'T GET ONE. I guess this is the CHANGE he was promoting during his run for President!

Re:No problem

[Anonymous CowHardon]

I use an open-source cootie catcher [scholastic.com.au]. Works every time.

Re:No problem

[daeley]

He's not complaining about not having electricity. He's complaining about being forbidden from whacking sabertooths on the head unless he's using a newfangled club that shouts "I AM A CLUB!" while you wave it in the air and it shoots out orange and yellow flames.

If he were asking for the Google Maps website to send him directions via telegraph, then he would be complaining about electricity.

This post brought to you by the Mixed Metaphor Society: Keeping the Home Fires on Track since 1962.

don't care anymore

[Nick]

If anyone felt like tracking where I've been, eavesdropping, etc, they would be very bored.

Re:This makes no sense

[Anonymous Coward]

What kind of a backwards government is this, I want my vote back.

NO worries Slashdot user jerep (794296) [SSN: 111-222-3333], we've checked our records and your vote wasn't counted. Have a nice day, and enjoy that caramel latte you just bought.

Re:No problem

[geekoid]

Your post hit that bull's-eye, and the dominoes fell like a house of cards.Checkmate!

Re:No problem

[severoon]

You should do what I do...leave everything turned on, but to poison all the DBs in the world, spend at least 90% of your time browsing stuff that doesn't interest you. This absolutely foils their plan to get to know you through tracking. There's just no way they can get around it at all for 'em.

I even take it to the next step beyond—90% of the money I spent on the web is for stuff I have absolutely no use for and definitely don't want. It's a brilliant, positively ironclad way to screw them over and make sure they get theirs!

Oop...I just used up my 10% time on /. writing this post. Gotta go surf pee-pr0n...disgusting stuff. laterz!