• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, October 4, 2010

The industry privacy group Truste has abandoned an effort to convince advertisers, agencies and ad networks to use its icon in targeted ads and has instead applied to distribute the i-in-a-triangle icon being released on Monday by the newly formed Digital Advertising Alliance.

The icon, a critical piece of the industry's privacy efforts, is intended to notify consumers about online tracking and allow them to opt out. Truste also will partner with AdSafe Media and DoubleVerify to make available Javascript tags that can be inserted into online ads and that serve to alert publishers that the icon should be displayed.

Users who click on the icon will land on a page where they can learn about behavioral targeting, see what ad networks are involved in serving the ad, and can also opt out. Chris Babel, CEO of Truste, says that a recent pilot project -- conducted with another version of the icon -- showed that the vast majority of users who clicked on the icon used it to educate themselves about behavioral targeting, but not to opt out.

The start-up Better Advertising -- which was selected by the National Advertising Review Council to monitor compliance with privacy principles developed by the trade groups -- is the first company designated by the DAA as an approved provider.

The DAA recently launched the site Aboutads.info, which will offer information related to the industry's self-regulatory efforts. Members of the organization include the Interactive Advertising Bureau, American Association of Advertising Agencies, Association of National Advertisers, Better Business Bureau, Direct Marketing Association and others.

Many industry executives had expected Web companies to begin using the icons earlier this year, but the project was delayed due to questions concerning whether courts would enforce the trade groups' ability to use the earlier version of the icon.

The compliance program, like the self-regulatory principles, is part of the industry's effort to prove that privacy laws are unnecessary. Earlier this year, Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) introduced a bill that would require some companies to obtain users' explicit permission before sharing their personal information with third parties, unless those companies participate in a universal opt-out program operated by a self-regulatory program and overseen by the Federal Trade Commission.

Federal Trade Commission chair Jon Leibowitz also said recently that the agency is looking into creating a do-not-track list that would allow people to opt out of all behavioral advertising.