The Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) has collaborated with key players in online behavioural advertising to launch the UK's first self-regulatory guidelines to set good practice for companies that collect and use data for online behavioural advertising purposes.
The move comes as Sky Media's managing director Nick Milligan pointed toward Sky's hope of introducing ‘targeted substitutional advertising' for TV in the next few years, letting advertisers talk to consumers on a ‘one-to-one' basis.
Eyre said that behavioural advertising was ‘easier to attack than defend' with a ‘Daily Mail' response over privacy concerns.
He said behavioural advertising targeting ‘redeems us from geriatric measurement' systems.
Ofcom's chief executive Ed Richards agreed that negativity over behavioural targeting activity by Phorm was ‘unfortunate' as consumers wanted more relevant advertising if handled ‘transparently'.
Richards called on other media companies to sign up to the IAB's self-regulatory code.
The companies currently signed-up to the IAB Good Practice Principles include AOL, Google, Microsoft Advertising, Phorm and Yahoo!
Supported by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the independent data protection regulator, the IAB said its code set out commitments to transparency, user choice and education.
Research conducted by the IAB found that 85% of consumers would rather have free content on the internet with advertising on websites, rather than pay a premium not to have advertising. More than half of those internet users surveyed would prefer to receive advertising that is relevant to them, whereas only 9% would not.
Eyre argued that every media company needed to enhance their business digitally and needed a ‘bullet-proof' plan for the development of the web.
He said we ‘must act' to stop Culture Secretary Andy Burnham from over-regulating the internet, calling for self-regulation by the industry. Eyre added that he was in favour of ‘relaxing the tourniquet of CRR' on ITV to allow ad growth.
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