Online Advertising - Strict New Government Regulation Coming?

[Linda Buquet]

There's a new Sheriff in town and he's hell bent on cleaning up the wild wild web and the Internet marketing space. David C. Vladeck is the new head of the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the Federal Trade Commission. He has some pretty radical ideas about consumer privacy and is even talking about forcing marketers to have consumers opt-in before ads are served or any data is collected. He's primarily concerned with behavioral targeting but this is something we need to keep an eye on.

The <strong><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/05/business/media/05ftc.html?_r=2&ref=media">New York Times</a></strong> just had a big story about it.

"In an interview, Mr. Vladeck outlined plans that could upset the online advertising ecosystem. Privacy policies have become useless, the commission’s standards for the cases it reviews are too narrow, and some online tracking is “Orwellian,” Mr. Vladeck said."

Marketing Pilgrim has a story today. <strong><a href="http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/2009/08/internet-marketer-alert-the-government-is-coming-the-government-is-coming.html">Internet Marketer Alert! The Government is Coming! The Government is Coming!</a></strong>

"It looks like the Internet marketing industry could be staring at an age of government regulation and oversight that could change online advertising in major ways. While this kind of news should come as no surprise based on the new age of government intervention in business it is still enough to make even the most seasoned online marketer take notice."