Commentary

Public Policy: It's Time

  • by , Featured Contributor, November 9, 2006
I spent the better part of Election Day in Washington D.C. I went down to make a presentation at the Federal Trade Commission's hearings on "Protecting Consumers in The Next Tech-ade" and to attend a dinner at the International Association of Privacy Professionals. There's nothing like spending a day in Washington with policy makers--particularly Election Day-- to heighten one's appreciation for the role that public policy plays in business, especially one with heavy consumer interaction like ours. Of course, as we now know, Tuesday turned out to be a very big day for public policy, and it wasn't just the FTC hearings. The House of Representatives changed from Republican to Democrat. A number of key governorships changed hands from Republican to Democrat. And, at this writing, the control of the Senate is still up for grabs.

This will impact on industry, and not necessarily because one party has an agenda that is different from the other, but because with change comes a desire on the part of the new policymakers in control to make themselves noticed. As they try to make an impact, some of their attention will certainly be directed to issues like the Internet and privacy, media and advertising. What does this mean for you? It means that if you care about the long-term development of the online advertising industry, you should start paying attention to public policy issues. Here are some places to start:

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  • Understand what is going on in Washington and with state attorneys general. What they do impacts you. Pay attention.

  • Have a point of view on key policy issues. We will see likely movement on policy issues like net neutrality, privacy, data retention, spyware, and the taxation or regulation of advertising. Make sure that you know what these are and prepare a point of view on them.

  • Reach out to privacy and compliance officers at clients and partners. In addition to making sure that you know what your own privacy and compliance officers are worrying about, find out what those that work for your clients and partners are worrying about. Attending the IAPP dinner with dozens of privacy officers from companies like P&G, Capital One and General Electric was eye-opening. What they worry about is already impacting your business.

  • Have a crisis plan. Don't wait until there is a scare in the market to plan for what you will do. Bad actors and stupid actions lead to bad feelings, opinions and finally bad laws. When they happen--and they will--be prepared to move to action immediately. Don't be stuck with no strategy and no plan while you're trying to figure out what is what and who is who, and you're dodging calls from journalists ready to drop a negative story on your industry in the papers the next day.

Whether or not public policy will affect you and your businesses is not in question. All that is in question is whether public policymakers will be your friends or your foes. Make that decision right away. Start working on it now.

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