Be careful, folks, because the next time you log on to the White House website to report that friend who sent you a “fishy” email, the government may begin tracking you.

Right now, there’s a ban in place on government computers using cookies, or any other technology, to track the activities of visitors after they leave a government site.  In place since 2000, the prohibition could be done away with only if agency if agency heads cited a “compelling need.”  According to the Washington Post, the White House Office of Management and Budget has proposed ending it, citing a need to take advantage of social networking sites (which tend to make heavy use tracking technology) as the primary reason. 

Ever the transparent administration, the White House has offered a two week period for public comment on the matter.  Here’s hoping you heard about it and made your opinions known, because it ended yesterday.

The ACLU has come out strongly condemning the move, claiming that the “sea change” policy shift will “allow the mass collection of personal information of every user of a federal government website.”

Given that the Obama administration had the Air Force monitoring Twitter and Facebook to gauge public reaction to the Air Force One New York flyover fiasco, that they’re actively asking people to report Obama-unfriendly email directly to the White House, and that Obama has supported and continued Bush’s domestic spy programs, we’re not exactly sure why they’re surprised.  Obama’s team have made it pretty clear that internet privacy is far from a priority.

- Robert Laurie