What you need to know:

The intertwined issues of data privacy and security have never been more at the forefront of debate, both internationally and domestically. With the passage of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), it has become increasingly clear that legislators and regulators around the world are beginning to move in response to years of high-profile data breaches and lack of transparency in data usage.

The danger to the advertising industry in the years ahead will be the potential proliferation of fifty different state privacy and security statutes, each with its own unique compliance requirements. The 4A’s firmly believes that given the boundary-less nature of the Internet economy, data privacy and security must be legislated at the national level.

What the 4A’s is doing to support the industry:

The 4A’s shares knowledge and insights on a rapidly developing online advertising marketplace. We work to protect consumer data through best practice frameworks while ensuring that agencies and advertisers are not burdened by heavy-handed legislation that may compromise an innovative, fast-moving Internet.

• The 4A’s is a founding member of Privacy for America, a new industry initiative created to support sensible, comprehensive baseline federal privacy legislation that seeks to both protect consumer concerns while also preserving American innovation and competitiveness.
• The 4A’s Privacy Task Force keeps industry leaders aware of the issues, concerns and legal/legislative challenges that agencies and clients must address.
• The 4A’s is a founding member of the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA). The DAA “AdChoices” and “AppChoices” programs offer consumers information and control over the use of their Web-viewing, file-sharing and location-based data in online advertising. These programs continue to serve as the industry standard for consumer privacy protection in interest-based online advertising (IBA, OBA) across both desktop and mobile environments.