The Digital Ad Industry Gets Dressed Down in Washington

Senator John D. Rockefeller IV (D-WV) lambasted the digital advertising industry for failing to voluntarily honor privacy requests from online consumers called “Do Not Track” signals.

Negotiations between advertising groups and privacy advocates have bogged down over basic questions of how exactly to define, standardize and respond to the privacy signals. Although major browsers now allow users to express their preferences about online tracking, very few companies now honor browsers’ don’t track me flags. Frustrated by the seemingly slow progress, Sen Rockefeller, the chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, grilled industry representatives at a hearing about Do Not Track. Do Not Track “is still just an idea, not a reality,” said Chairman Rockefeller. “What exactly is the holdup?” Although the industry ad choices program does put some limits on its members’ use of consumer data — restricting it to activities like fraud prevention and security — Chairman Rockefeller says the industry’s exceptions for market research and other uses promote unfettered data collection about consumers’ online activities. The senator introduced a bill in February that would direct the Federal Trade Commission to create standards for Do Not Track mechanisms as well as develop rules that prohibit companies for collecting data about consumers who opt out of tracking. “I do not want to hear assertions that the current self-regulatory scheme fulfills Do Not Track requests,” Chairman Rockefeller said.