[ by Melanie Gretchen ] Google with other Internet giants have formed a coalition to support a do-not-track button, a move that the industry had been resisting for over a year.  But now, it's part of the White House's call for Congress to pass a "privacy bill of rights," to give people greater control over the personal data collected about them. Industry's Disciplinary History. To date, the industry has been taxed over a number of high-profile slip-ups.  Facebook agreed recently to settle charges by the U.S. government that some of its privacy practices had been unfair and deceptive to users.  Last month, Google acknowledged it had been circumventing the privacy settings of people who use Apple's Web-browsing software on iPhones, iPads, and computers. The Coalition's Intentions. Going forward, the companies have agreed to stop using the data about people's Web browsing habits to customize ads, and have agreed not to use the data for employment, credit, health-care or insurance purposes. The "do-not-track" button was first proposed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) about 2 years ago, and was adopted widely: Mozilla's Firefox Web browser was the first to add the do-not-track option early last year.  Microsoft's Internet Explorer Web browser added it soon after, and Apple included it in the latest version of its operating system, Mountain Lion, which was released to developers this year. Nevertheless, even people who were opting not to be tracked were still being tracked - because advertisers and tracking companies were not parties to the agreement - i.e., they had not agreed to honor the system.  When it made the announcement last month, the coalition - the Digital Advertising Alliance - consisted of 400 companies, who will work toward adopting and honoring the system within 9 months. What will continue... is the use of data for purposes including "market research" and "product development" and can still be obtained by law enforcement officers.  In addition, the "do-not-track" button will not be an end-all-be-all, because it will not block companies, such as Facebook, from tracking their members through "Like" buttons and other functions. Nevertheless, Christopher Calabrese, ACLU legislative counsel, believes it's a good start, although "we want you to be able to not be tracked at all if you so choose."  Don't worry - we'll be tracking your progress. For further details, go to [WSJ, 2/23/12].