By Erin Harrison, Senior Editor
Privacy abuse on the Internet is about to get a lot tougher as a new system that will monitor Internet advertising offenses will soon be launched. According to a Wall Street Journal report, the system to police privacy abuses by companies that track consumers’ Web-surfing habits for ad targeting” will be launched in coming months by groups whose members include heavy users of this type of information,” including Internet companies Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp. and advertising companies like WPP PLC. The system is part of a broader push to develop stricter self-regulation aimed at warding off federal regulation of the $23 billion-a-year online-advertising industry, according to the Journal. “Online-advertising companies typically gather information about consumers, such as the websites they visit or searches they make, to build profiles of those consumers. Marketers say the information is anonymous and can’t be traced back to any individuals. The profiles are used to target ads to specific types of consumers,” the WSJ reported. In related news, in an effort to reach consensus on Web-access rules, the Federal Communications Commission is in talks to devise a legislative proposal that would reinstate the agency’s authority over Internet providers, TMCnet reported. Chief of Staff Edward Lazarus told Bloomberg (News – Alert) that “the discussions may lead to a measure that would establish the FCC’s (News – Alert) power to regulate providers of high-speed Internet service, or broadband.” FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski (News – Alert) said in a meeting last week, “A limited update of the Communications Act could lock in an effective broadband framework to promote investment and innovation, foster competition, and empower consumers. I commit all available FCC resources to assisting Congress in its consideration of how to improve and clarify our communications laws.” As the debate in Washington, D.C. continues, a coalition known as the Better Advertising group, part of a larger movement that is pushing for greater transparency, was founded “to clear up the noise and confusion, while at the same time creating a solution that gives consumers the trust and confidence in interest-based advertising that will make their online experiences more relevant,” by About.com Founder Scott Meyer. Such groups don’t have enforcement authority but are heavily advocating the public exposure to bring violators into line, according to the Journal. Privacy concerns are not limited to mobile advertising – under scrutiny for lax – or even broken – privacy policies, it was uncovered in May that several popular social networking sites were sharing personal data with advertising companies, despite a policy that says information is not shared without consent, TMCnet reported. The Wall Street Journal reported that “the practice, which most of the companies defended, sends user names or ID numbers tied to personal profiles being viewed when users click on ads. After questions were raised by the Journal, Facebook and MySpace moved to make changes…Facebook had rewritten some of the offending computer code,” the article said.
Erin Harrison is a senior editor with TMCnet, primarily covering telecom expense management, politics and technology and Web 2.0. She serves as senior editor for TMC’s (News – Alert) print publications, including “Internet Telephony”, “Customer Interaction Solutions”, “Unified Communications” and “NGN” magazines. Erin also oversees production of TMCnet’s weekly iPhone (News – Alert) e-Newsletter. To read more of Erin’s articles, please visit her columnist page.
Edited by Erin Harrison
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