There has been a lot of interest in behavioral targeting by privacy groups and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) lately.
First, the Center for Digital Democracy (CDD) and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (US PIRG) filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) calling on the commission to undertake an immediate, formal investigation of online advertising practices. The groups claim in their 50-page filing that the data collection and interactive marketing system shaping the entire U.S. electronic marketplace is being built to "aggressively track internet users wherever they go, creating data profiles used in ever-more sophisticated and personalized one-to-one targeting schemes."
Current privacy disclosure policies, CDD and US PIRG contend, are totally inadequate, failing to effectively inform users what data are being collected and how that information is subsequently used.
In response, TACODA Systems announced its Consumer Choice Initiative, a system that will provide consumers notice of their exposure to the network at least once every six months. Tacoda Founder and Chairman Dave Morgan says the company's initiative, which will provide notice through the use of tens of millions of in-page advertising units, goes further than current regulations or industry best practices requirements for consumer privacy.
And finally, the FTC met about these issues for three days in Washington D.C. The sessions were all about how to make sure hot new companies and hot new technologies don't overwhelm or overrun consumers-- the folks who are ultimately at the center of everyone's business models. Tacoda's Morgan attended the hearings and summed up his impression last week here in iMedia.
With all of this going on, we asked players in the space to give their thoughts on where behavioral targeting goes from here.
The consensus: Behavioral targeting will continue and perhaps even increase in importance for marketers, but the industry needs to do a better job of educating both consumers and legislators about how it works.
Respondents are:
Andrew Zucker, Chief Sales Officer, Pulse 360 (A Seevast Company)
Jack Smith, VP, Product Strategy, 24/7 Real Media
Bill Gossman, President and CEO, Revenue Science
Alan Chapell, President, Chapell & Associates
Mitch Lowe, CEO, JumpStart Automotive Media
Brent Hieggelke, Chief Marketing Officer, Touch Clarity
Ari Kaufman, Vice President of Sales, TruEffect
Next: Read respondents' opinions on where BT goes from here.
