Press Play: You May Now Protect Your Privacy

Do you browse the internet a lot? Can you remember all the websites you ever visited?  Ever registered for anything online?  Do you have a Facebook or LinkedIn profile?  Did you fill out the information about yourself on them?  "What's with all the questions?" you may ask. Well everything you do online is tracked, shared and saved by advertisers to directly target you whenever you take to the internet to do whatever you like?  It's called  online behavioral advertising.


Online behavioral advertising is when marketers use static consumer data (such as demographic and socioeconomic information), as well as behavioral data (such as mouse clicks and purchases) in order to target the right kind of advertisement to a particular person. The major benefit is that consumers get more ads that are interesting to them. The major downside is that some consumers feel that their privacy is violated.

Advertising Option Icon

(Superhero music plays in the background):  Well fear no more, your privacy can be protected, if you just press play.  This play button looking icon is known as the "Advertising Option Icon."  Once placed near the data collection portion of the website, the icon serves as  way for participating companies to inform consumers about their data collecting practices and give consumers the option to opt-out of their targeting.  But here's the catch, consumers have to willingly click on the icon that takes them to another page where they can read and learn about behavioral advertising and the opt-out choices they have. 


I don't believe consumers will have any idea as to what the icon means.  They might be curious to press play thinking it's a way to listen listen to music while browsing, but when taken to another page and faced with a ton of information to read they'll more than likely close the page.  This kind of thing is not totally new, their ability to opt-in or opt-out of things on our cellphones as well and consumers still don't use it. We just can't be bothered sometimes. 


Of course most companies will sign-up knowing, in the back of their minds, that the average consumer won't care about such an icon being displayed.  It will be the new "industry thing to do."   As for this new standard being monitored by the sponsoring agencies for compliance I doubt they'll be to able to effectively police a large amount of companies.  Let's not even mention how savvy some companies are, I'm sure someone will find a way to bypass or manipulate the system. 

Sponsoring Agencies (Participating Associations)

For companies, the advertising option icon will be a big seal of approval to continue doing what they already do - collect consumers data (invade privacy).  For consumers the advertising option icon will be another crash and burn.  As consumers we would appreciate that companies leave us alone unless we seek and knowingly authorize them to make an offer that we can't refuse. 


Referenced Websites:
"E-Marketing for Sensible Folks" http://e-marketingforsensiblefolk.blogspot.com/2010/10/would-you-click-this-icon-to-protect.html 
"Self Regulatory Principles for Online Behavioral Advertising"  http://www.aboutads.info/