New York Attorney General Letitia James announced the launch of two privacy guides on the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) website: a Business Guide to Website Privacy Controls and a Consumer Guide to Tracking on the Web. The Business Guide aims to help businesses protect visitors by identifying common mistakes in deploying tracking technologies, processes for preventing issues, and ensuring compliance with New York law. The Consumer Guide offers tips for New Yorkers to protect their privacy while browsing the web. These guides were issued following a review that found unwanted tracking on more than a dozen popular websites serving over 75 million visitors monthly.
“When New Yorkers visit websites, they deserve to have the peace of mind that they won’t be tracked without their knowledge, and won’t have their personal information sold to advertisers,” said Attorney General James. “All too often, visiting a webpage or making a simple search will result in countless ads popping up on unrelated websites and social media. When visitors opt out of tracking, businesses have an obligation to protect their visitors’ personal information, and consumers deserve to know this obligation is being fulfilled. These new guides that my team launched will help protect New Yorkers’ privacy and make websites safer places to visit.”
While many websites provide information about tracking and controls for managing it, not all businesses ensure accurate disclosures or effective privacy controls. Internet tracking primarily relies on cookies—small text files created by browsers when visiting websites—that contain unique identifiers helping online services recognize users across webpages. Advertising companies use cookies to track user activities like visited sites, clicked buttons, and searches run, which then serve targeted ads.
The Business Guide identifies common business mistakes related to tracking technologies and provides steps for prevention and compliance with New York laws. It ensures representations about tracking are truthful and not misleading.
The Consumer Guide explains how website visitors are tracked using cookies from initial page loads before opting out is possible. It clarifies that opting out does not delete pre-existing cookies on users' computers, meaning consumers can still be tracked despite opting out.
These online privacy guides are part of OAG’s ongoing efforts to protect New York consumers and enhance business data security practices. Earlier this month, Attorney General James issued a consumer alert regarding free credit monitoring services following the Change Healthcare data breach. In March 2024, she led a bipartisan coalition addressing Facebook and Instagram account takeovers by scammers in correspondence with Meta Platforms Inc. In April 2023, she released a comprehensive data security guide for companies.
This initiative was managed by Senior Enforcement Counsel Jordan Adler and Assistant Attorney General Jina John with support from Internet and Technology Analyst Nishaant Goswamy under Deputy Bureau Chief Clark Russell's supervision along with Bureau Chief Kim Berger of the Bureau of Internet and Technology within the Division for Economic Justice led by Chief Deputy Attorney General Chris D’Angelo overseen by First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy.