Recently, the House Energy and Commerce Communications, Trade and Consumer Protections Subcommittee, along with the Communications, Technology and Internet Subcommittee held a joint hearing entitled: “Behavioral Advertising: Industry Practices and Consumer Expectations.” The hearing examined potential privacy implications of behavioral advertising and potential privacy legislation that would account for how companies with unlike business models use information they collect about their users.
Several witnesses from a variety of businesses provided their opinions on behavioral advertising for the subcommittees. Those in favor of privacy legislation argued that consumers need to be made more aware of what and how much information is being collected by the website, as some information could be confidential. They also asserted that consumers should be able to opt out of giving their information to first and third parties.
The witnesses opposed to federal privacy legislation held that they already provide tools and control to the consumers to manage their profiles and advertisements. Also, others contended that advertising is too valuable to the internet, and that it was necessary to be cautious not to cripple innovation. Many witnesses maintained that self-regulation was already in place.
As part of RILA’s continued advocacy for the industry, RILA recently signed on to a multi-industry letter to Chairman Boucher and Rush, along with Ranking Members Stearns and Radanovich. The letter stated the importance of this issue to several industries and urged members to use extreme caution when contemplating any legislative proposal or regulatory changes that could adversely affect consumers and businesses.
RILA remains an active industry advocate, and looks forward to continuing to work with you in the future.