Stronger opt-out policies part enforcement push

As part of a new push to regulate and enforce opt-out policies among web advertising companies and the tracking of web users, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has reached a settlement with advertising firm Chitika Incorporated over a "bug" in their software that resumed tracking users who had opted-out of their program after 10 days, The Wall Street Journal reports. The company claims it intended the opt-out to last for 10 years, but was unaware of the problem until the FTC pointed it out last month.

While Chitika claims that no personally-identifiable information was ever collected, the FTC's settlement includes demands forbidding the company from making any misleading statements about the way it collects or uses consumer data, as well as requiring that all targeted ads feature a link to a site allowing customers to opt-out of being tracked or targeted for at least five years. The company says they fixed the software bug and as of March 1st all those who opt-out will not be tracked or targeted for 10 years, well beyond the FTC's requirements.

The settlement also requires Chitika to destroy information collected during the nearly two years the bug existed, and to contact those who had previously opted-out to inform them that their previous effort was unsuccessful and direct them to the new opt-out form. The company claims that during the two-year period in question, they received an average of 30 opt-out requests per month out of a potential customer network of 450 million users.

The settlement comes as other industry organizations are cracking down on deceptive or misleading privacy and ad-tracking policies. The Direct Marketing Association as well as the Council of Better Business Bureaus are also stepping up enforcement of their policy guidelines that require more and better transparency on how tracking data is collected as well as opt-out policies along with the FTC. [via The Wall Street Journal]

By Electronista Staff