U.S. Online Marketers Want Obama Adm. to Press for Weaker Privacy Safeguards for EU, Asia-Pacific & Other Global Citizens & Consumers

The U.S.’s larger marketing, advertising and media lobbying organizations want the Obama Administration to help them continue to engage in behavioral data profiling and other digital marketing techniques without meaningful safeguards.  Trade groups–including the Direct Marketing Association, Interactive Ad Bureau, and the 4A’s–  told the Obama Commerce Department it wants it to negotiate a trade deal with the EU and elsewhere that would give U.S. online ad companies, in essence, a free pass on data collection and tracking.  Can you believe they want U.S. self-regulation (ineffective and a cover to permit the expansion of consumer data collection) to be the global standard.  File this under digital Chutzpah!  They wrote in a [my emphasis]  filing:

We support the Department’s recommendation that the U.S. government continue to develop a framework for mutual recognition of an international data privacy framework. The Department has an important role in representing and advocating for the interests of American businesses.  We believe that the Department has the experience and expertise needed not only to represent the interests of U.S. industry, but to lead the global privacy policy debate.  We recommend that the Department advocate for a global framework consistent with U.S. privacy standards, including the Self-Regulatory Principles for Online Behavioral Advertising, which have allowed U.S. companies to lead the world in innovation and to remain economically competitive.  In addition to decreasing regulatory barriers to trade and commerce, global interoperability should promote—or at a minimum not impede—economic competition and innovation.  We believe the U.S. approach to privacy policy meets these goals.

Here’s who signed the filing.  Attention EU–watch out.  And a question for the Obama Administration.  Which side of the keeping the online medium a real reflection of democratic potential will you be on?

American Advertising Federation
American Association of Advertising Agencies
ASAE
Association of National Advertisers
Coalition for Healthcare Communications
Direct Marketing Association
Electronic Retailing Association
Interactive Advertising Bureau
MPA — The Association of Magazine Media
National Business Coalition on E-Commerce and Privacy
Newspaper Association of America
Performance Marketing Association
TechAmerica

Author: jeff

Jeff Chester is executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy. A former journalist and filmmaker, Jeff's book on U.S. electronic media politics, entitled "Digital Destiny: New Media and the Future of Democracy" was published by The New Press in January 2007. He is now working on a new book about interactive advertising and the public interest.