| The Bush Administration maintains that its Web tracking technology is consistent with federal rules because it only counts the number of visitors to a particular website anonymously and does not record any personal identification information. The White House's site also uses what is known as a Web bug -- a tiny, graphic image that is virtually invisible -- to track the number and time of visits. The Web bug is sent by a server that is maintained by an outside contractor, Web Trends, Inc. Web Trends is a traffic analysis company that provides reports on visits to the White House site. Web bugs themselves are not illegal or prohibited. With that said, under a directive from the Office of Management and Budget (a While House agency) they generally are banned at government sites when they are linked to cookies, which are data files that let a site track actual visitors.
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