Stephanie Clifford
In an effort to fend off federal regulation, major trade groups in the advertising industry have announced stricter guidelines on how their members use and collect online data.
In a report, a consortium of the trade groups intends to address a growing concern in Washington and among consumer advocates that people are being tracked too much online, with information about their web surfing, shopping habits and overall interests being collected for advertising purposes.
Congress held hearings on the subject in June, asking executives from Facebook, Google and Yahoo! to testify, and the Federal Trade Commission issued a report in February that urged updated principles for self-regulation. All along, most advertisers, agencies and publishers have been arguing that they can keep an eye on their own practices, and don?t need government intervention.
The jump in interest from Washington hastened the report?s release, said Stuart P Ingis, a partner at the Venable law firm and a lawyer for the trade groups. ?We believe that self-regulation, historically, it?s proven to be far more dynamic and flexible in this area,? Ingis said. ?Legislation is a pretty blunt instrument and we hope, legislation or not, these are the right standards.?
The report, ?Self-Regulatory Principles for Online Behavioural Advertising?, reflects several of the commission?s suggestions from February. The principles are meant to go into effect in 2010, affecting the more than 5,000 companies that belong to the sponsoring organisations, including Google, Microsoft, Yahoo!, Disney and Verizon.
Charles H Kennedy, a lawyer at Morrison & Foerster who focuses on communications and advertising said, ?Self-regulation is going to be the solution, and this is a step in the right direction.?