Privacy Slip On Official US Sites

News agency Associated Press broke the story about the NSA's use of so-called "persistent cookies" to log who visits its website. Cookies are small text files placed on users' computers when they visit a website. They are usually used to record preferences, such as native language, so the next time that user visits the page they see it in the tongue they usually speak. Federal rules do allow government agencies to use session cookies that exist only as long as a visit to a particular website. Many online stores use them to remember the contents of a visitor's virtual shopping trolley. However, persistent cookies that are never deleted are prohibited following guidelines first issued in 2000 and subsequently updated in 2003 by the White House's Office of Management and Budget. Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/technology/4569184.stm Published: 2005/12/30 13:01:22 GMT

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