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'Power I' Icon Could Add Transparency to Online Advertising

by Warren Riddle on January 28, 2010 at 05:20 PM

A consumer's right to privacy represents one of the primary dilemmas of the Information Age. The revelation that search engines, particularly Google, can track and store every key stroke, query and page hit, and then turn that information over to advertising firms for so-called "targeted" ads is outraging concerned citizens. The demands for legislative action and advertising transparency have subsequently increased, even inspiring the Federal Trade Commission to become involved.

Hoping to ward off that government intervention and interference, members of the advertising industry have been working in conjunction with privacy advocacy groups to create a universal advertising icon. According to the New York Times, in order to help dispel the paranoia and quiet the complaints, the coalition has picked a clickable "i" symbol, which will appear on a majority of online ads. The icon, referred to as the 'Power I,' will lead consumers to detailed information about exactly why and how they have been "behaviorally" selected (pdf alert) by the advertisers and by said targeted advertisement.

If someone is annoyed, or even outraged, by repeatedly being subjected to useless pop-ups, though, will slapping a somewhat meaningless symbol on the ad really ease that frustration? Probably not, but, at least the icon is a good starting point, even if it was a bit federally forced. [From: The New York Times]

Tags: advertising, ftc, onlineadvertising, targetedadvertising, top

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