White House Says Web Site Counts Visitors
NEW YORK - The White House said Friday its Web tracking technology is consistent with federal rules because it only counts the number of visitors anonymously and doesn't record personal information.
Ref. https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051231/ap_on_...white_house_bug
Web tracking technology being used by the government will eventually take its turn being big brother and start intruding into personal lives by recording personal information. Power to track users on the web will only lead to abuse by the federal governments. The feds cannot resist the urge to use technology simply because its there to use.
I have no doubt that they are recording nothing more than anonymous visits. The other program that they are running that nobody has found out about is already logging personal information so there is no need for the one that is public to do so thus it never will. (This is in my opinion only of course.) This is all too normal. The government in the US as well as many other have always taken it upon themselves to take away freedoms in the name of "National Security". In a way I guess that I understand this but in others I feel betrayed.
If the Government Is Tracking Your Location or Reading Your Email, Would You Ever Know?:
These court opinions and filings tell us a great deal about how the government interprets its authority to obtain highly personal information, and the extent to which it interprets the law to avoid informing individuals when they have been spied upon. Ref. Source 8
The government I feel has been tracking people for a long time ever since they figured out it can be done. I bet other government agencies are doing it too. This is all in the name of national security of which we have less and less actual security. Reminds me of quote from Ben Franklin. "Those who give up their freedoms in the name of security will have neither."