Key Advertising Groups to Develop Privacy Guidelines for Online Behavioral Advertising Data Use and Collection.
NEW YORK -- Four leading marketing and advertising industry associations today announced that they are working together to develop enhanced self-regulatory principles for online behavioral advertising in order to address privacy concerns and to increase consumers' trust and confidence in how online information is gathered and used. This cross-industry self-regulatory initiative represents the first time the entire marketing-media ecosystem has come together to develop practices in interactive advertising. The associations are the American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA), the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), and the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). The Council of Better Business Bureaus (BBB), a leading organization dedicated to advancing marketplace trust, is also part of the effort.
The joint industry task force plans to engage with policymakers, a broad cross section of business, consumers, and other important stakeholders as it addresses the important public policy issues that have been raised regarding online behavioral advertising. The group is currently discussing the areas for self-regulation set forth in the Federal Trade Commission's proposed self-regulatory principles issued in December 2007, including education and transparency, consumer notification and choice, data security, and self-regulatory enforcement. The associations look forward to working with the FTC as it continues to review its privacy principles.
The members of these associations, along with other participants of the group, together represent thousands of advertisers, agencies, marketers, publishers, media companies, ad networks, and other service providers, including the major participants in the online advertising marketplace. The initiative will seek to address concerns about the use of online consumer data for behavioral advertising purposes while preserving the innovative and robust advertising that supports the vast array of free online content.
"Advertising agencies are leaders in the innovation that is fueling the Internet economy," said Nancy Hill, President and CEO of the American Association of Advertising Agencies. "The result has been tremendous benefits for all consumers. We are anxious to work with our colleagues in the Internet, advertising, and marketing communities to develop effective self-regulatory practices that apply across all our memberships."
