The Evidon Weekly Digest 1/25/12
Big news is brewing in Europe: Regulation has been proposed in Brussels that would compel web sites to tell consumers why their personal data is being collected and retain it for only as long as necessary. Specifically, this regulation will focus on data retention, transparency, and the growing notion of “the right to be forgotten.” It is very important, however, to understand that this applies to the collection and use of personally identifiable data, not data collected from cookies and other tracking scripts which are covered by the EU ePrivacy Directive.
Other EU news brought us a post by vice president of the European Commission Nellie Kroes that endorsed Do Not Track and an announcement by the IAB in Europe that it will “continue to welcome dialogue” focused on privacy and transparency in interest-based advertising.
This past week’s US news was full of reactionary press that centered on the DAA’s new “Your AdChoices” advertising campaign. The New York Times wrote a piece, as well as all of the industry publications. Also, Fatemeh Khatibloo, a senior analyst at Forrester Research, announced a new study about consumers’ sensitivities to various kinds of data, for which we had a great deal of input.
Europe Weighs Tough Law on Online Privacy – NYT – Europe is considering a sweeping new law that would force Internet companies like Amazon.com and Facebook to obtain explicit consent from consumers about the use of their personal data, delete that data forever at the consumer’s request and face fines for failing to comply.
Why we need a sound Do-Not–Track standard for privacy online – Nellie Kroes, Digital Agenda – This really is privacy and data protection week! In Brussels there is the Computers, Privacy & Data Protection conference and the Commission is soon adopting its proposal for a reform of the European Data Protection legal framework (which I wrote about here).
IAB Europe and EASA welcome dialogue with the Article 29 Working Party [Press Release] – Following the Article 29 Working Party open letter dated 8 December 2011, IAB Europe and EASA continue to welcome dialogue on the IAB Europe OBA framework and the EASA Best Practice Recommendation aimed at empowering consumers with transparency and choice towards Online Behavioural Advertising (‘OBA’).
For Online Privacy, Click Here – NYT – Something viewed online billions of times a month would seem to need no further promotion, but that assumption falls short when the something in question — a turquoise triangle in the upper right-hand corner of banner ads — is a critical piece of the debate about online privacy.
Fear & Irony On Madison Avenue: Industry Avoids Jargon To Promote 'Interest-Based' Advertising – MediaPost – Madison Avenue’s Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) this morning unveiled “Your AdChoices,” a campaign aimed at educating consumers about “interest-based" advertising and how to take greater control of their online privacy.”
Ad Industry Wants to Rebrand Behavioral Advertising – DigiDay – It stands to reason that the advertising industry, faced with unease over behavioral advertising, would choose a rebranding exercise. It’s not behavioral advertising, you see, it’s “interest-based advertising.”