FTC Issues Privacy Guidelines for Internet Advertising Industry

By Jeffrey A. Cohen
January 3, 2008

On December 20, 2007 the Federal Trade Commission released a memorandum of proposed policy containing five proposed "governing principles" for behavioral advertising and the collection of personal information for that purpose.

According to the memorandum the principles are intended to address certain unique concerns expressed about behavioral advertising. The stated purpose of the memorandum is to encourage meaningful and enforceable self-regulation to address certain privacy concerns raised with respect to behavioral advertising. The principles are drafted in general terms to encourage comment and discussion by all interested parties and further development of the principles based on the comments.

The Principles address five key issues:

          1. Transparency and Consumer Control

          2. Reasonable security, and limited data retention, for consumer data

          3. Affirmative express consent for material changes to existing privacy promises

          4. Affirmative express consent to (or prohibition against) using sensitive data for 
              behavioral advertising

          5. Using tracking data for purposes other than behavioral advertising

Comments in response to the proposed principals are requested by Friday, February, 22, 2008.

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