The tension between corporate desire to target ads at consumers and consumer desire to escape the onslaught of advertising continued apace as Yahoo said it will give its users the choice to opt out of customized advertising on its own sites.
Yahoo already had an opt-out program for customized advertising served by Yahoo on third-party networks.
Yahoo said its move is a response to a Congressional inquiry about customization sent to 33 companies from the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Anne Toth, head of privacy and vice president for policy at Yahoo, said: “Yahoo strongly believes that consumers want choice when customizing their online experience, and they have also demonstrated a strong preference for advertising that is more personally relevant to them. However, we understand that there are some users who prefer not to receive customized advertising, and this opt-out will offer them even greater choice.”
This new opt-out capability is expected to be available for consumers by the end of August.
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