
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Interactive Advertising Bureau
CEO David Cohen on Monday reiterated the organization's call for a national privacy law that would override state laws.
“If we don't get public policy right and regulation right, nothing
else really matters,” he said at the IAB's public policy and legal summit here.
He added that efforts to shape policy were "priority No. 1" for the ad group.
While Cohen said new
privacy laws in five states presented a “challenging” environment, he did not repeat the more inflammatory comments he made earlier this year, when he said privacy “extremists” were attempting to destroy
the advertising industry.
“We are all working collaboratively toward getting the regulatory environment right,” he said. “Data is the lifeblood of our industry and the
information economy.”
At the same time, he said, regulations are “not in conflict with a safe, privacy-centric consumer experience.”
Michael Hahn, general counsel of
the organization, added that companies attempting to interpret the various state privacy laws should take a broad view of the statutes. “When faced with a choice between two interpretations of a
privacy law, one broad, and one narrow, adopt the broad reading,” he recommended Monday.
“Building your compliance program around a broad interpretation provides durability and
sustainability,” he said, adding that regulators tend to take broad approaches.
Hahn also said one “critical change” in the new privacy laws is that they require publishers
and advertisers to take responsibility for data they collect. “First parties must take ownership for what happens on their sites,” he said.