OMB unleashes new privacy guidelines for Government

Two weeks ago the Government Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued two new memoranda, M 10-22 and M 10-23, regarding web measurement and the utilization for 3rd party technology for government websites. The new guidelines are part of the OMB’s “Open Government Directive” and seek to promote transparency, participation, and collaboration while protecting individual privacy.

Although the new memoranda reverse a number of previous mandates, what bears scrutiny is that while there appears to be some easing of restrictions around 3rd party technology use on government sites, most current 3rd party ad tracking serving and measurement technologies still cannot comply with the new requirements. For instance, new guidelines allow for retention of data for only as long as deemed necessary, but not to exceed 12 months. Most ad server cookies are set for a minimum of 24 months, while others range up to 10 years. And data is commonly retained for more than 18 months.

Last summer, the Future of Privacy Forum, in their reply comments to the Federal Government Websites cookie policy, recommended that “Only ‘first party’ domains should be used, rather than ‘third party’ domains, to avoid potential for unwanted correlation across unrelated Web sites.” Likewise the Center for Democracy and Technology recommended that Federal Government Agencies serve and measure advertising from their own first-party Web domain. We agree. That’s why “first-party” solutions, like our own TruConnect technology, are still the safest bets going forward in an industry whose privacy practices are increasingly being called into question.

– Martin Smith

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