IAB, DMA, Others Encouraging New Icon for User Regulation of Behavioral Ads
Marketing and media trade associations’ creation of an icon to give consumers control over the collection and use of their data is a step in the right direction but may not be enough to improve consumer trust, some privacy advocates said. The Direct Marketing Association, the Interactive Advertising Bureau and other groups are educating their members about the Advertising Option Icon, a feature that can be displayed near online ads and on Web pages where data is collected and used for behavioral advertising. The icon leads consumers to disclosure statements regarding a company’s advertising data collection and features an opt-out mechanism.
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While self-regulation has been encouraged among online advertisers, it isn’t the solution to privacy and trust issues, the Center for Democracy & Technology said. The center supports self-regulation, “but there needs to be a backstop” through legislation, Justin Brookman, a senior fellow. He added, “This icon needs to give consumers the opportunity to opt out globally,” and it “should be consistent across multiple sites."
"We shouldn’t expect the fox to do a good job of managing the henhouse,” said Peter Eckersley, senior staff technologist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The right approach is for Congress to pass a bill, he said.
Self-regulation is a faster and “more nimble” solution than legislation, DMA said. “There’s no way that legislation could accomplish better choices and privacy in the time frame that self-regulation can,” said Linda Woolley, executive vice president of government affairs. “Over time, the icon could migrate to mobile devices” and the industry can do faster than any government agency, she said. “If we waited for Congress to pass a law, it could take five years."
The associations’ plan to promote the icon by providing webinars to educate their members. Companies can begin using the icon for a renewable annual fee of $5,000. Web publishers with annual revenue from online behavioral advertising of less than $2 million don’t have to pay the fee. While the associations are encouraging their members to adopt the icon, the DMA, the American Advertising Federation and others aren’t making it mandatory. The optional approach is a problem, Brookman said. Without “making the icon consistent across the members, you could have a problem getting the buy-in necessary to inform consumers about how their data is being handled.”
It’s up to the industry to adopt the icon to avoid a “consumer trust meltdown,” the Online Trust Alliance said. If consumers “don’t trust the site they're going to, they can use ad blockers and script blockers that would interrupt the ability of sites to monetize,” said Craig Spiezle, executive director. The effort is a good sign, considering “the amount of organizations that are working together and the significant heightened concern over privacy."
Cars.com and Yahoo plan to use the icon. The effort seeks to build a universal icon like the recycling symbol, said Anne Toth, head of Yahoo’s privacy division. Having enough players involved “creates pressure for other groups to join in.” Hopefully, there will be “a natural movement toward adoption without needing legislation.”