Ad Networks Adhering to Strict Privacy Guidelines

In a perfect world, the Network Advertising Initiative's annual compliance report would have come out before 60 Minutes trashed the data tracking and collection on the Web for interest-based advertising.

The report details how 88 Internet ad networks like Google, Yahoo, AOL and Microsoft comply with the organization's strict self-regulatory privacy code to ensure that consumer choices are honored and data privacy is protected. It dispels, in part, many of the myths that tracking on the Web is completely lawless and unregulated. While the 88 ad networks don't cover all of the ad networks that place advertising on the Web, the NAI's members are the largest and represent a significant portion of the marketplace.

In 2015, the report will include 100 ad networks. To comply, ad networks met very specific standards of the organization's self-regulatory code, which requires the companies to publicly post data collection and retention practices and give consumers the opportunity to opt out of tracking. Companies also agree to only use data for marketing purposes and comply restrictions with the restrictions on personally identifiable and sensitive information, such as health.