Could a Do Not Track List Put the Brakes on Behavioral Advertising?

By Bill McClellan

Many industry players have recently contacted ERA regarding an FTC proposal to create a Do Not Track List, making it more difficult for Internet advertisers to monitor online consumers' web habits. While the FTC did hold a workshop on behavioral marketing, the Do Not Track List was not a government proposal, but rather a group of consumer advocates releasing their thoughts in conjunction with the event.

The FTC's workshop focused on what types of consumer data are collected, how such data is used, what protections are provided for that data, and the costs and benefits of behavioral advertising to consumers. Additionally, there was discussion revolving around what companies are disclosing to consumers and what consumers understand about online collection of their information for use in advertising.

While the consumer group backers for a Do Not Track List are attempting to take the model of the Do Not Call list, ample testimony over the two-day workshop reinforced the dramatic differences in which the telephone and Internet mediums operate. In fact, many experts indicated that a Do Not Track List would, in fact, actually increase the volume of online ads a consumer would receive. In a hypothetical situation where a consumer joins a proposed Do Not Track List, he or she would still see online ads, just not ads targeted to them. The generic nature would necessitate a web publisher to show more ads to compensate for the lost revenue of targeted advertising.

WHO IS AFFECTED?
For those of you unfamiliar with behavioral advertising, it works like this: Instead of an ad being contextual to the content on a website (think Google Adsense), behavioral marketing targets consumers based on their behavior on a number of websites. A user visits several travel category pages on a particular site, for example. She is then served vacation ads.

Three issues were highlighted at the FTC's workshop: 1) the issues surrounding behaviorally targeting children on Facebook-type platforms; 2) third-party behavioral targeting (a consumer visits your website and is served with ads from previous websites they have visited); and 3) the issues of what types of personal information were collected--none among reputable players in the industry--and how long it would be kept were topics of discussion.

The industry has taken these proposals seriously, with AOL announcing a new website that will link consumers directly to opt-out lists run by the largest advertising networks. Google also has launched a privacy channel on its YouTube property to better educate the public with respect to their browsing options. It is a new and interesting issue that ERA will keep a close eye on moving forward.

Bill McClellan is vice president of government affairs at ERA. He can be reached at (703) 908-1032, or via e-mail at bmcclellan@retailing.org.