The US advertising industry has drawn up guidelines for
online advertising in an attempt to avoid legislative action over
controversial behavioural targeting practices.
Privacy groups have condemned advertisers for using technologies
such as
Phorm which track online users' browsing habits and then use
the information for targeted marketing campaigns.
This form of advertising has raised privacy concerns because it
leads to the creation of large databases of personal
information.
The
guidelines are in response to a warning from the Federal Trade
Commission (FTC) that it would step in if the industry did not
control how online advertisers collect and use personal data.
The guidelines call for internet companies to inform users how
their data is being collected and give them the chance to opt
out.
They also call for internet service providers to get specific
consent from users to track their browsing habits before doing
so.
But US privacy advocates have given only lukewarm support to the
self-regulation move and said consumers would be better protected
by a broader privacy law, according to the
Financial Times.
The FTC said the move was "a good first step", which means the
advertising industry may have to take further steps to safeguard
privacy to avoid new legislation on privacy in advertising.
In the UK, opponents of the Phorm technology maintain that it is
illegal under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act.
Opposition from privacy groups has delayed a full UK
implementation of the Phorm technology.
Only a limited trial with
10,000 BT customers has been conducted in the UK. Virgin Media
and Carphone Warehouse have also signed deals with Phorm, but no
trials have been announced.
Privacy campaigners have sent an
open letter to leading web companies demanding they resist the
introduction of the Phorm tracking system by BT, Virgin and
TalkTalk.
The future of behavioural targeting technologies such as Phorm's
is uncertain in Europe, where officials could rule that consumer
profiling by advertisers breaches privacy laws.