Behavioral Advertising to Remain Unregulated by FTC

Story:

The FTC has issued only modest changes to a 2007 federal policy on behavioral advertising, the practice of tracking user behavior online and then tailoring advertising accordingly

Bottom Line

Behavioral advertising will remain self-regulated by Internet companies, and the report contains only “recommendations.”

Key Takeaways

• The FTC said companies should:
  • Inform users about the kinds of information collected and allow them a way to opt out of the tracking
  • Securely data securely, retain it for only as long as necessary and seek express consent to collect particularly sensitive information like children’s behavior, financial details and health problems

• UC Berkeley’s Center for Law and Policy Center says:

Requiring people to opt out of data-collection programs at individual Web sites is designed to fail, because it’s too burdensome, said the director of Information Privacy Programs at , Chris Hoofnagle, said that

• FTC Commissioners say:

The hope to pressure major companies such as Google and Yahoo to boost their privacy protection.  The Industry “needs to do a better job of meaningful, vigorous self-regulation or it will certainly invite legislation by Congress and a more regulatory approach by our commission,” said Jon Lebowitz, an FTC commissioner

• Google says:

The recommendations “underscore that in a fast-evolving space like the Internet, a self-regulatory approach is the best way to protect consumers and promote innovation,” said Google’s senior policy counsel. He added that the industry can and should do more to protect user privacy, and that it will lobby for federal legislation on the issue.

• Yahoo says:

That Yahoo already has a record of transparency and consumer choice, including the ability for its users to opt out of behavioral tracking, available at privacy.yahoo.com. Kelley Benander, a Yahoo spokeswoman, said that a small number of users have taken advantage of the option, but she didn’t have any exact numbers.

• Public interest groups say:

The recommendations are a free pass for companies to continue intrusive data-collection practices. Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, denounced the new guidelines, saying they do little to curtail the techniques Internet companies already use to amass information about their users.

• The Daily Anchor says:
  1. As a consumer, I say if I’m going to be hit with online advertising it might as well be targeted; it just makes more sense than not for me to see ads targeted to my demographic.
  2. As a member of the mediasphere, I’m a proponent of self-regulation. The benefits of a self-regulating open market extend into all facets of our economy, including private enterprise. Fewer restrictions allow for greater growth, and if a major Internet company were to grossly violate the privacy of the American public, I do believe the backlash would knock that company down to size and the industry as a whole would register a lesson-learned.
  3. Dear SF Chronicle editorial board, if you’re going to publish an article about there being no substantial changes to behavioral advertising regulation, then isn’t it a little misleading to title your article “New Guidelines for Tracking Consumers Online“?

• Privacy advocates are working on a Do Not Track program that would establish a central place to decline Internet tracking, similar to the Do Not Call list designed to keep telemarketers at bay

Source: The SF Chronicle

A Fine Example of Targeted Advertising. Or not.

Tagged as: Behavioral Advertising, FTC, Online Advertising