FTC’s “Do Not Track” Could Hurt Smaller Websites

The effect of Do Not Track on ad-serving websites would be to lower revenues based on behavioral ads. Relatively large websites that publish premium content would likely not be affected significantly by Do Not Track because the vast majority of their ad space is typically sold directly to marketers which may be able to rely successfully on contextual ads.

This would not be true for smaller websites that typically rely more heavily on ad networks to place their ads. For this reason, smaller websites which publish free content supported by behavioral ads could face a significant impact on revenue from Do Not Call.

For consumers, Do Not Track could dramatically affect the quantity and quality of content they see on the Web. This is due to the fact that much of the free content on the Web is supported by ad revenue. Consumers operating in stealth mode would likely see limited or reduced content, plus ads would not be as relevant.

FTC’s “Do Not Track” Initiative Portends Major Impact on Online Advertising