Study: Web Users Don't See AdChoices Icon
Only around one in five Web users say they notice the AdChoices icon, which is aimed at telling consumers about online behavioral advertising, according to research slated to be unveiled today by the University of Pennsylvania's Joe Turow.
Most Web users, 55%, say they don't know whether they have seen the icon, while 24% say they have not, Turow says. The findings come from a survey of nearly 1,500 Americans about attitudes regarding online ad targeting. The study also found that the overwhelming majority of respondents, 86%, disliked targeted political ads. That finding was released in July, but the data about the AdChoices icon wasn't made public at the time.
Turow, a professor at the Annenberg School for Communication, is presenting his research today at a meeting convened by the Commerce Department.
The AdChoices icon -- the centerpiece of the ad industry's self-regulatory efforts -- is served in around 1 trillion ad impressions each month. The symbols, consisting of a lower case 'i' inside a triangle on its side, typically say "AdChoices" and appear in the top corner of behaviorally targeted ads. Consumers who click on the icons are taken to a page where they can learn more about online behavioral advertising -- or how companies mine users' Web-surfing history in order to serve them ads -- and opt out of that form of advertising.
A study released in April by researchers from Carnegie Mellon University also raised questions about whether the icons effectively inform Web users about data-based advertising. For that report, researchers tested how 1,500 Web users interpreted the icons, taglines and landing pages. Most users "mistakenly believed that ads would pop up if they clicked on disclosure icons and taglines," the report says. More than six in 10 users, 63%, believed that opting out would stop online tracking; in fact, most ad networks only promise to stop sending targeted ads to people who opt out (though some also stop tracking those users).
Recent Raw Articles
-
Chrysler Goes Kicking And Screaming To Recall June 18, 5:44 p.m.
Chrysler Group LLC and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have resolved their differences with ...
-
Adobe's DPS Hits 100 Million Downloads June 18, 5:10 p.m.
In connection with reporting second-quarter results on Tuesday, Adobe said it has delivered 100 million digital ...
-
Google's Motorola Shifts Media Account To Digitas June 18, 3:33 p.m.
Google-owned Motorola has appointed Publicis Groupe’s Digitas to handle global media duties, according to sources. Those ...
-
Mobile Banking Head Weber Leaving Citi June 18, 11:57 a.m.
Tracey Weber, North America head of Internet and mobile banking at Citi, is leaving the banking ...
-
Facebook Upgrades Page Post Link Ads June 17, 6:15 p.m.
As part of its recent effort to simplify its ad offerings, Facebook on Monday announced updates ...
-
Google Pushes 'All Access' Via Starbucks June 17, 2:54 p.m.
With Apple announcing its own music streaming service last week, it wouldn’t be surprising to see ...
-
Fandango Adds To Video Lineup June 17, 12:22 p.m.
Continuing to broaden its content offerings, Fandango over the weekend launched a new series called “Summer ...
-
Samsung, Jay-Z Team For Album Release June 17, 10:22 a.m.
In what the company is calling a first for the music industry, Samsung will release rapper ...
-
Netflix and DreamWorks Make a Big Deal for Original Kids Content June 17, 9:56 a.m.
Netflix and DreamWorks Animation this morning announced a multi-year deal in which the studio agreed to ...
-
Deutsch Founder David Deutsch Dies at 84 June 13, 7:59 p.m.
Sad news out of Interpublic’s Deutsch Inc. today—agency founder David Deutsch passed away. He was 84. ...
Be the first to comment on "Study: Web Users Don't See AdChoices Icon"
Leave a Comment