A group of the nation’s largest media and marketing trade associations today released self-regulatory principles to protect consumer privacy in ad-supported interactive media that will require advertisers and Web sites to clearly inform consumers about data collection practices and enable them to exercise control over that information.
This unprecedented collaboration represents the entire marketing-media industry and includes the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s), 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 and has agreed, along with the DMA, to implement accountability programs to promote widespread adoption of the seven Principles. This cross-industry self-regulatory task force represents the first time that representatives of the entire advertising ecosystem have come together to develop principles for the use and collection of data in this important area to the economy.
This self-regulatory program is expected to be implemented at the beginning of 2010.
You can read more of the press release here, but basically this boils down to the industry’s effort to regulate itself rather than face governmental regulation.
You can read Self-Regulatory Program for Online Behavioral Advertising here (pdf).