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Nick Stringer

Nick joined the IAB – the UK industry body for digital advertising - as its first head of regulatory affairs in April 2008. He leads the sector, both in the UK and at EU level, in working for the optimal policy environment for digital advertising, in particular on privacy issues, and helping to boost the understanding of digital media and its benefits within regulatory and political circles.

Read the full biography here.

Forward i

An Innovation in Digital Advertising Self-Regulation

24th May, 2011

New digital advertising techniques – such as online behavioural or interest-based advertising – require the trust and confidence of consumers, industry, regulators and policy-makers to be successful. In March 2009, IAB UK launched its Good Practice Principles aimed at providing notice, choice and education for consumers as well as to address privacy concerns relating to this practice. The Principles were complemented by a website where consumers could find out more about behavoural advertising, how privacy is protected and – if they wanted to – to turn it off.

A Harmonised Pan-European Approach

In April 2011, and after almost two years discussion amongst industry and engagement with the European Commission and civil society groups, a cross-industry group, including the IAB, published a pan-European self-regulatory ‘Framework’ – building upon the UK’s Good Practice Principles – aimed at enhancing transparency and consumer control for behavioural advertising. Leading online businesses, such as AOL, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo!, have signed up to the initiative, as well as publishers such as BBC Worldwide, The Guardian, Financial Times and Telegraph Media Group. A copy of the Framework - plus FAQs and full list of signatories - is available here.

The EU Framework consists of seven key principles:

	1.	Notice – transparency about data collection and use practices associated with behavioural advertising, providing consumers with clear, prominent and contextual notice through multiple mechanisms, including the icon.
	2.	User choice – greater consumer control over behavioural advertising.
	3.	Data security – appropriate data security and retention of data collected and used for behavioural advertising purposes.
	4.	Sensitive segmentation – limitations on the creation of ‘interest segments’ to specifically target children and on the collection of sensitive personal data collected and used for behavioural advertising.
	5.	Education – for consumers and businesses about behavioural advertising and the self-regulatory Framework.
	6.	Compliance and enforcement – mechanisms to ensure the effectiveness of the Framework, including a trading seal to be granted to compliant businesses once independently audited and which demonstrates to brands that the holder adheres to the obligations under the Framework.
	7.	Review – regular review of the Framework to ensure it evolves with developing technology and business practices.

Transparency and Control

At the heart of the initiative is an ‘icon’ (also known as the ‘forward i’) that will appear in or around a display advert that you see on a website. The icon is a logo that – over time – will become universally recognisable, such as the one we all know for recycling, making consumers aware that the ad that they are seeing is being displayed based upon previous web browsing activity.

The icon will also offer consumers greater control over behavioural advertising: with a single click a consumer can reach more information as well as a new pan-European industry website – www.youronlinechoices.eu – allowing the consumer to manage information preferences, and all in their language of choice. The site has been live in the UK for two years but we’re now rolling it out to include other EU countries and languages. The icon is already being piloted in the UK.

Compliance and Enforcement

The Framework – part of an industry-wide Best Practice Recommendation covering the entire advertising ecosystem - introduces a new compliance and enforcement system: combining a pan-European independent audit of the obligations of those businesses collecting and using information for this purpose, supported by a trading seal offering brands confidence on who they’re working with, with the tried and tested existing national self-regulatory systems (eg ASA’s ‘name and shame’). It is an innovation in digital ad self-regulation.

UK Government Support

Finally this approach has the support of the UK Government. In a speech to the CBI at the end of March, UK Communications Minister, Ed Vaizey, welcomed the initiative calling the icon an ‘example of where industry-led solutions can provide an answer.’ The UK Government has also expressed further support for this initiative in a formal way. It recently outlined how it intends to implement the revised ePrivacy Directive in the UK and stated that the initiative ‘met the requirements’ of the Directive.

Nick Stringer

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