Interactive Advertising Bureau Joins the Growing Number of Industry Lobbyists Calling for Privacy Legislation

BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: The CEO and Executive Vice President of the Interactive Advertising Bureau, a trade group for digital marketers, argue in a Tuesday OpEd for “Do Not Track Plus” legislation. With civil society and lobbyists alike joining the chorus for privacy legislation, it’s looking more and more likely that — eventually — online privacy will be subject to federal regulation. Given the complexity and nuances of the subject, these emerging consensus will take time to congeal.

IAB to Congress: Create “Do-Not-Track Plus,” from the Interactive Advertising Bureau:

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IAB is an organization that represents publishers, platforms, brands, and advertising and marketing technology companies. Some might argue that we are therefore not credible in arguing for a Federal Do-Not-Track standard—even though we have been at the forefront in creating and managing such universal standards, via our work with the Digital Advertising Alliance in the U.S. and with IAB Europe and member companies on the IAB Transparency & Consent Framework in Europe.

In addition, it is true that we have consistently declared our opposition to “Do-Not-Track.” That is because it sets up a false history of consumer data, a false narrative of consumer victimization, and a false sense of security about consumer control. It’s simply an incorrect, noxious notion that consumers are de facto victimized by the use of their data. It’s equally false to tell consumers that simply by pressing a button and stopping all this “tracking” they will somehow be safe. They won’t be.

The fact is, Americans need real protection from actual harm caused by illegitimate data-sharing. They also need less blanket fear-mongering about basic uses of consumer data that have powered the economy for more than a century.

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Source: IAB to Congress: Create “Do-Not-Track Plus”