How can brands stay legal with their online behavioural targeting?

by Mark Turner and Danielle Lemon, marketingdirectmag.co.uk 03-Jul-09, 23:28

Q: I understand there are new laws coming into force in September with regards to online behavioural advertising. What do I have to do to make sure I am in compliance?

There are no laws relating to behavioural targeting but a code of practice will come into force this September.

The Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) has collaborated with key industry players and the Information Commissioner's Office to launch the UK's first guidelines for online behavioural advertising.

The IAB's Good Practice Principles ("GPP") were developed in a bid to increase consumer awareness about online behavioural advertising, and to safeguard individual privacy online.

The principles are a self-regulatory, public commitment to good practice. This means that when the GPPs come into force on 4 September 2009, companies that choose to become signatories will have to monitor their own compliance with the GPPs, and be accountable to consumers for such compliance.

The IAB’s tenets supplement existing UK data protection laws by requiring signatories to comply with three core principles:

1. Notice: companies collecting and using online data for behavioural advertising, including and networks, technology companies and website publishers, must clearly inform consumers that data is being collected and used for behavioural advertising.

2. Choice: companies must provide an "opt-out" for consumers who do not wish to receive behavioural advertising, and, where required by data protection law or specific regulatory guidance, seek consumer's consent to participate.

3. Education: companies must make information about the use of data collected and how consumers can opt-out of such collection accessible and easy to understand.

Since their launch in March 2009, the Good Practice Principles have been met with a positive reception within the industry.

Who's signed up so far? Well, AOL, Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft, for starters. To learn more about the GPPs, visit the IAB's website at www.iabuk.net.