• ClickZ, Tuesday, March 3, 2009 11:15 AM

As expected, President Barack Obama on Friday nominated Federal Trade Commissioner Jon Leibowitz as chairman of the federal agency. ClickZ's Kate Kay says the move, if approved by Congress, would have repercussions for the online advertising industry. In a recent address, the FTC Commissioner warned that, "a day of reckoning may be fast approaching" for online advertising.

In a statement issued earlier this month along with the agency's revised behavioral advertising principles, Leibowitz said, "The jury is still out about whether (self-regulation) alone will effectively balance companies' marketing and data collection practices with consumers' privacy interests." Leibowitz has refused to publicly rule out FTC regulation of advertising tactics like behavioral targeting. At a conference in 2007, he said, "The marketplace alone may not be able to solve all problems inherent in behavioral marketing. If we see problems...the commission won't hesitate to bring cases, or even break thumbs."

Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, for one, would be happy to see greater regulation of the online ad industry. "We expect significant FTC action on financial and health-related consumer issues, including privacy," Chester tells ClickZ. "There will also be a more critical eye cast with mergers," he said.

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