The TRUSTe - CDT Internet Policy Series: Behavioral Advertising – Monetization versus Privacy – Navigating the Policy Risks March 4, 2009

Speakers:
Anne Toth, Vice President of Policy and Head of Privacy, Yahoo!
Colin O’Malley, VP Strategic Business, TRUSTe
Alissa Cooper, Chief Computer Scientist, CDT

In the first of a series of practice-oriented policy forums, TRUSTe and the Center for Democracy and Technology bring you three of the people shaping the policy and business environment for online advertising.

Advertising has supported the Internet’s remarkable growth and seems to represent a viable revenue stream for many sites for the foreseeable future. The Internet offers the potential of perfect targeting – delivering just the right ad to each user. But does targeting the right ad require knowing a lot about individual users? Will privacy concerns prompt policymakers to regulate? How can participants in the online advertising eco-system afford notice and otherwise comply with basic privacy principles?

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TRUSTe and the Center for Democracy and Technology are teaming up to host a series of policy forums on issues affecting the Internet and e-commerce. For 2009, we are planning 4 events, in Silicon Valley and San Francisco.

Can’t those clueless policymakers just let us innovate?

When your aunt is on Facebook, the President has a Blackberry and cocktail party chatter is about getting your DNA mapped, you know that we’ve entered a new era of digital technology’s impact on society. The pervasive integration of the Internet and related technologies into the fabric of daily life raises a host of issues about privacy, open access, free expression, security and innovation. In response, policymakers in Washington are increasingly interested in regulating or even restricting what some in Silicon Valley simply view as the future.

To explore how emerging technologies run head first into public policy concerns, the Center for Democracy and Technology and TRUSTe will be holding quarterly forums in 2009. These events will provide insight into Washington developments and straightforward advice on how to design business models in light of the policy climate. We’ll emphasize the bottom line over lawyer-speak. We’ll also provide recommendations on how to get engaged in the policy process. The forums are intended for technologists, business strategists and investors, but we’ll let lawyers attend too.

The events will be held every 3 months, on the first Wednesday of the month, alternating between a venue in the city and one down the peninsula.

Official Website: http://www.truste.com/about/internet_policy_series.php