Agencies Address Clients' Mobile Privacy Fears

mobile-privacy

Privacy emerged as a hot topic at the Mobile Upfront conference in New York Wednesday in the wake of the iPhone location data controversy and recent legislation that would expand online privacy rights. Agency executives said client concerns about mobile privacy had increased in recent weeks and would likely continue to grow as the issue gained wider attention from policymakers and federal regulators.

While not yet slowing the growth of mobile advertising, Michael Collins, CEO of Joule, the mobile marketing agency within WPP's GroupM, suggested that privacy worries could prove an impediment in the coming months. To help avoid potential problems, he said GroupM in the next few days plans to adopt a privacy policy that sets standards for the use of personal data in mobile marketing and advertising.

Collins declined to discuss details of the effort until it was formally unveiled, but indicated during a panel discussion featuring Omnicom executives that the new policy was aimed at ensuring that personally identifiable information is protected in the agency's mobile campaigns and initiatives. "We don't want to wait until someone steps on a landmine and has a problem," said Collins.

In April, John Montgomery, COO of GroupM Interaction, was named chairman of a new American Association of Advertising Agencies committee focused on Internet privacy.

The brouhaha following the discovery that Apple was storing detailed information about iPhone and iPad users' movements triggered client questions about whether the increased focus on mobile privacy could affect their mobile marketing efforts.

Both Apple and Google, which collects location data on Android devices, have asserted the data they gather on mobile users isn't personally identifiable and is used to deliver targeted advertising and location information when people opt-in to receive certain services. Executives from the two companies essentially reiterated that position when testifying before Congress Tuesday about how they use location data.

In a prepared statement in connection with the same hearing called by Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), the deputy director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection said the agency is pursuing "a number of active investigations" into mobile privacy, including children's privacy.

Plus, Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) last month introduced a bill creating a privacy "bill of rights" that would allow people to opt of data collection for behaviorally targeted advertising or transfer to third parties. That legislation's definition of PII includes mobile phone numbers and mobile device numbers.

A Wall Street Journal investigation of user data collected via apps drew wider attention to the finding that many popular iPhone apps transmit a device's unique ID number to ad networks or other outside companies without a user's knowledge or consent.

Collins acknowledged that use of the unique device ID number for targeting purposes was an issue the industry had to tackle. "We have a tracking measurement which could hit a rough spot regarding PII," he said. "Once it becomes more evident, brands won't want to put themselves in a compromising position in a nascent channel."

In response to a question about how agencies should deal with client concerns about privacy, Collins and other panelists advised erring on the side of caution when it comes to data collection. "We're going to go beyond where we would naturally want to go in terms of self-regulation," said Andy Wasef, director of social and emerging platforms, MEC North America, citing the government's "appetite for privacy regulation."

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