Privacy group blasts behavioural advertising guidelines

 

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By Stuart Turton

Posted on 5 Mar 2009 at 11:14

Privacy groups have attacked new Internet Advertising Bureau guidelines on behavioural advertising, claiming they don't go far enough.

Behavioural advertising tracks users' online activity, theoretically allowing companies to tailor adverts to visitors' interests.

The practice is used by companies such as Google, Yahoo and, most controversially, Phorm, which is partnering with BT to rollout its Webwise system. The system has brought a storm of protest from privacy advocates who believe the system is an intrusion.

In order to allay such concerns the IAB has released its guidelines, which operate along three principles.

Notice - a company collecting and using online data for behavioural advertising must clearly inform a consumer that data is being collected and used for this purpose

Choice - a company collecting and using online data for behavioural advertising must provide a mechanism for users to decline behavioural advertising and where applicable seek a consumer's consent

Education - a company collecting and using online data for behavioural advertising must provide consumers with clear and simple information about their use of data for this purpose and how users can decline

"The online advertising industry is committed to protecting privacy and the IAB has a proven track record in self-regulation," says Nick Stringer, head of regulatory affairs at the IAB. "These are significant developments in offering people greater transparency and choice regarding behavioural advertising."

Guidelines not good enough

However, the measure stops short of making all behavioural advertising "opt-in", leading the Open Rights Group (ORG) to dismiss the guidelines.

"The sites using behavioural advertising are likely to be operating via cookies. Any opt-out would be stored by a cookie. So each time a user deletes their cookies, or changes browser or machine, they have to opt out," says Jim Killock, the group's executive director.

"This makes opting-out a repeated procedure, which would make all but the most stubborn user simply give their consent. This is not how consent should work, and a system that pesters users into opting-in is, in our view, an illegitimate attempt to substitute acquiescence for consent, whereas nothing but consent is acceptable," he says.

The guidelines are being backed by key advertising players including Phorm, AOL, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo.