[RTC List] FTC calls for input on Town Hall about "Ehavioral Advertising: Tracking, Targeting, and Technology."

[Sean McLaughlin]

RTC Folks -

Here's a chance to get involved in national policy discussion at the 
Federal Trade Commission.
Anyone on the Redwood Coast concerned about privacy?

_______________________________________________

On November 1 and 2, 2007, the Federal Trade Commission will host a Town 
Hall entitled "Ehavioral Advertising: Tracking, Targeting, and 
Technology." The event will bring together consumer advocates, industry 
representatives, technology experts, and academics to address consumer 
protection issues raised by the practice of tracking consumers' 
activities online to target advertising - or "behavioral advertising." 
The Town Hall is a follow-on to a dialogue on behavioral advertising 
that emerged at a November 2006 FTC forum, "Tech-Ade," which examined 
the key technological and business developments that will shape 
consumers' core experiences in the coming ten years. In addition, 
several consumer privacy advocates, as well as the State of New York, 
recently sent letters to the FTC asking it to examine the effects of 
behavioral advertising on consumer privacy.

The workshop will explore how the online advertising market, and 
specifically behavioral advertising, has changed in recent years, and 
what changes are anticipated over the next five years. The workshop will 
examine, for example, what types of consumer data are collected, how 
such data are used, and what protections are provided for that data. The 
workshop will also address what companies are disclosing to consumers 
and what consumers understand about the online collection of their 
information for use in advertising. Finally, the workshop will look at 
what standards do or should govern practices related to online 
behavioral advertising.

The Commission invites interested parties to submit requests to be 
panelists and to recommend other topics for discussion. The requests 
should be submitted electronically to 
<mailto:behavioraladvertising_requests at ftc.gov>behavioraladvertising_requests at ftc.gov 
by September 14, 2007. The Commission asks interested parties to include 
a statement detailing their expertise on the issues to be addressed at 
the Town Hall and complete contact information. The Commission will 
select panelists based on expertise and the need to represent a range of 
views about the issues. Panelists selected to participate will be 
notified by October 5, 2007.

STAFF CONTACT:
Peder Magee
Bureau of Consumer Protection
202-326-3538

Link to press release below:

<http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2007/08/ehavioral.shtm>http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2007/08/ehavioral.shtm