From a research paper published by some Berkeley researchers:
The Obama Administration is considering whether to change policy concerning the use of HTTP cookies on government websites. Currently, government officials require a “compelling need” to use persistent HTTP cookies, and must disclose their use in a privacy policy.
In light of this we arbitrarily chose six government websites to determine whether Flash was being used to assign unique values to visitors. Of the 6 government sites we tested, 3 had Flash cookies. Three were set by whitehouse.gov, one of which was labeled, “userId.” Five of these sites used persistent HTTP cookies.
Whitehouse.gov disclosed the presence of a tracking technology in its privacy policy, but the policy does not specify that Flash cookies are present, nor does it provide any information on how to disable Flash cookies.
The White House “disclosure” still doesn’t mention Flash cookies or how to disable them. It does however state the following:
This persistent cookie is used by some third party providers to help maintain the integrity of video statistics. A waiver has been issued by the White House Counsel’s office to allow for the use of this persistent cookie.
If you would like to view a video without the use of persistent cookies, a link to download the video file is typically provided just below the video.
If the White House videos can be viewed without the use of persistent cookies, than what compelling reason is there for this waiver?
This is so like this administration (and the several previous ones as well): Make a rule, then have the White House Counsel issue waivers for it. Obama’s first executive order was to forbid lobbyists from presidentially appointed positions – a waiver for that was issued before the day was out, and in less than a week, the second most important post in the Pentagon was given to a lobbyist. Not to mention Obama’s claim of “sovereign immunity” when it comes to lawsuits against the government concerning warrant-less wiretapping.
Until we have government officials who respect the Rule of Law – instead of the Rule of Individuals – and honor their oath to the Constitution, they shouldn’t expect anyone to trust them.
Tags: Obama, Privacy, White House
