‘Do Not Track’ Removed From Firefox ⇥ arstechnica.com

Kevin Purdy, Ars Technica:

It might not ever be fully dead, but Firefox calling it quits on Do Not Track (DNT) is a strong indication that an idealistic movement born more than 13 years ago has truly reached the end of its viable life.

[…]

Besides lacking regulatory teeth, DNT was also generally overcome by advancements in tracking. All the signals put out by a browser — plug-ins, time zone, monitor resolution, even the DNT option itself — could be used to effectively track a user, even across browsers. Apple dropped DNT from Safari in 2019, citing both its ineffectiveness and fingerprinting.

Unfortunately, the replacement for Do Not Track — the Global Privacy Control — is not quickly catching on despite claiming to have “broad industry support” and legal might.