Looks like the White House website policy is going to follow the pattern of the general White House policy when it comes to breaking rules, ethics and even laws: "Whaddayagonnadoabowdit?!"

Yes, the White House website is going to continue to track visitors:

The White House said Friday its Web site will keep using Internet tracking technologies, deciding that they aren't prohibited after all under 2003 federal privacy guidelines.

The White House's site uses what's known as a Web bug -- a tiny graphic image that's virtually invisible -- to anonymously keep track of who's visiting and when. The bug is sent by a server maintained by an outside contractor, WebTrends Inc., and lets the traffic-analysis company know that another person has visited a specific page on the site.

Web bugs themselves are not prohibited. But under a directive from the White House's Office of Management and Budget, they are largely banned at government sites when linked to cookies, which are data files that let a site track Web visitors.

Cookies are not generated simply by visiting the White House site. Rather, WebTrends cookies are sometimes created when visiting other WebTrends clients. An analysis by security researcher Richard M. Smith shows such preexisting cookies have then been read when users visit the White House site.

Ah, so the cookies are planted in your browser elsewhere; the White House only harvests the data! Don't you feel better?

(If you haven't already, maybe it's time you started using Firefox to browse the web, and enjoy more power over your personal information, including cookies.)

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