14th August 2012: IAB Australia’s Director of Regulatory Affairs, Samantha Yorke, has called for a Privacy Regulatory framework which is both reasonable and practical and which will provide business certainty so that the industry can continue to flourish within Australia and abroad.
Ms Yorke made her comments while appearing on behalf of the industry before the House of Representatives Committee Inquiry inquiring into the Privacy Amendment Bill last Friday 10th August.
Ms Yorke commented: “This industry is strongly committed to privacy and we want to do the right thing. However we need a regulatory framework that is reasonable, practical and which provides business certainty so that the industry can continue to flourish.
“The online advertising industry’s success is tied to ensuring that people have positive experiences on these platforms and fundamental to this is securing and maintaining users’ trust – which is key to success as an online service provider. Ultimately, it is imperative to a digital businesses’ bottom line to get users’ privacy and security right,” said Ms Yorke.
Noting that the speed of change in the digital industry is a significant challenge faced by the House of Representatives Committee as it contemplates the regulatory framework, Ms Yorke outlined three key issues that the industry would like addressed: business certainty; the global digital economy; and enforcement.
IAB went on to ask that the rights of anonymity and pseudonymity in Australian Privacy Principle 2 be reconsidered to take into account that in some online contexts it is imprudent and impracticable to allow users to interact anonymously or through a pseudonym.
IAB has also asked that the position of advertising funded online business models be clarified under the direct marketing provision in APP7. Noting that Australians make great use of the plethora of free online products and services that can only be made available through revenue generated by advertising within these products and services, IAB stated that it strongly believes that online advertising, which does not rely on personal information, should not be caught by the prohibition on direct marketing.
Confirming that it is extremely supportive of codes and the role of self-regulation in demonstrating responsibility and accountability within online business models, IAB made additional suggestions around how the code development process can ensure a democratic and consultative outcome.
/Ends
About the Interactive Advertising Bureau
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Limited is the peak trade association for online advertising in Australia and was incorporated in July 2010. As one of over 40 IAB offices globally, and with a rapidly growing membership, IAB Australia’s principal objective is to increase the share of advertising and marketing dollars that interactive media captures in the marketplace.
IAB Australia’s board includes representatives of AIMIA, APN News & Media, Carsales.com, Fairfax Media, Google, Mi9, Network Ten, News Australia Sales, REA Group, SBS, Telstra Advertising Network, TressCox Lawyers and Yahoo!7. It has four objectives:
• To develop, coordinate and promote industry standards and guidelines that make interactive advertising a simpler and more attractive medium for agencies, advertisers and marketers
• To prove and promote the effectiveness of interactive advertising to advertisers, agencies, marketers, and the press
• To be the primary advocate for the interactive marketing and advertising industry
• To expand the breadth and depth of IAB membership while increasing direct value to members
For further information about IAB Australia please visit: https://www.iabaustralia.com.au
For more editorial information please contact:
Pru Quinlan or Corinne Cowlishaw
Einsteinz Communications
T: (02) 8905 0995
E: pru@einsteinz.com.au
E: corinne@einsteinz.com.au
