I am posting this to help the World Privacy Forum test if web advertisers actually honor their own opt-out systems. This should provide some very interesting hard data on the actual activities of big on-line web advertisers. They are running a test on the Opt Out page of the Network Advertising Initiative site and are looking for volunteers. The idea is to determine how well the opt out page is working, for which systems and which browsers.

Here are the directions:

(To run this test, you will need to set your browser to accept cookies)

1. Open site: http://www.networkadvertising.org/managing/opt_out.asp

2. Check all of the opt out boxes you will see on the right hand column of the screen.

3. Click the submit button. (bottom of page)

4. Note how many of the opt outs were successful. (Successful opt outs will have a green check mark next to them, unsuccessful opt-outs will have a red X mark next to them.

5. Please tell us your OS and OS version, and your browser and browser version.

6. If you can, please send us a screen shot of your result page.

7. Please email results to nai_test@nyms.net

8. We are closing the test period on Thursday, July 26, at close of business (Pacific).