Less than 24 hours from my posting “The NSA Compelled to Remove Tracking Cookies” (compiled from news sources), Wired News writes “WhiteHouse.gov Uses Cookies, Bugs”, citing that an outside contractor of the Bush Administration has been using internet tracking technologies that may be prohibited to analyze usage and traffic patterns at the White House's website.
Granted, most web sites use some sort of cookie and capture traffic statistics. As long as the cookies don't drop other tracking bits or malware, they are probably functioning outside prohibited activities.