Dive summary: 

• The Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) is leaving the Do Not Track working group due, unhappy with the lack of progress in the 2 1/2-year-long process of creating a universal standard.
• In a letter to the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), DAA said the group "reached the end of its useful life," and it remains unclear whether the group will continue without the DAA as other members are also frustrated by the lack of progress.
• The DAA is certain to receive backlash from the Federal Trade Commission and policy makers who were relying on the organization to produce something in lieu of legislation, and the move is likely to bring criticism that the ad agency is only out to protect its own interests. 

From the article: 

"As if to preempt objections from the FTC and others, the DAA said in its letter that it is not abandoning Do Not Track, just the group. It plans to convene a process to evaluate how browser-based signals can be used to meaningfully address consumer privacy. It also reminded the W3C that since the group was convened, the DAA has developed and established its own self-regulatory process that gives consumers the choice to opt-out of targeted ads."