'Net Features : privacy

Web Privacy Tech in Focus

Pete Prestipino — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 21:15:00 GMT

If you're struggling to help users maintain privacy on your site, check out the combined tag management system and visitor privacy solutions from Ensighten, which has just been awarded a patent for its consumer privacy management technology. Ensighten's services help online publishers and retailers that need to comply with consumer privacy protection lawas such as Do Not Track (DNT) in the US and the UK Cookie Law.

The Ensighten system uses conditional logic enables the creation of privacy rule-sets to handle privacy law requirements from any nation or to support enforcement of any company policy. Multiple privacy rule-sets supported, and are assignable by domain(s), sub-domain(s), page(s), path(s) or session-conditions (e.g. based on visitor’s national origin, device type, cookie, date, etc.).

“We’ve always seen our privacy technology as far more advanced than any other website privacy compliance solution on the market. The assignment of this patent by the USPTO underscores that Ensighten has extremely unique and compelling privacy technology that is practical for real-world use by high-traffic publishers,” said Des Cahill, VP of marketing at Ensighten.

“Online publishers and retailers are paying careful attention to evolving regulations such as Europe’s ePrivacy Directive because they must ensure their websites conform with its requirements. Ensighten Privacy provides single line of code deployment, requires no modification to existing page code, and does not require the purchase or installation of a TMS while giving publishers complete control of their privacy compliance.”

Is Behavioral Advertising No Longer Cool?

Michael Garrity — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 21:30:00 GMT

It looks like one of the big issues on the Web over the next few years will be user privacy; specifically, how much personal data websites and marketers are allowed to collect, and how much users are allowed to keep to themselves.

Most likely a result of numerous (and serious) complaints about Facebook’s many privacy issues in the past, more and more ‘Net users are paying closer attention to what data websites are using to track them, and taking more of an initiative to keep as much of their personal data to themselves as possible.

Online privacy services provider TRUSTe recently looked further into this topic and today released a report showing that an increasing number of consumers are taking action to protect their online privacy.

When the company studied this last year, it found that 27 percent of US adults (18 and over) would opt-out of online behavioral advertising due to privacy concerns. This year, that number has almost doubled, with 50 percent of adults choosing to opt-out.

In addition, 76 percent of respondents said they don’t let companies share their personal information with a third party, 90 percent will use browser controls (including deleting cookies) to protect their privacy, and 58 percent said they generally don’t like behavioral advertising. All of these numbers were an increase from last year’s report.

For now, this issue isn’t in the general public consciousness just yet, but as the numbers indicate, it’s getting there very quickly. Fortunately for marketers, this provides some time to try to come up with incentives for users to want to opt-in, or at least ways to provide a comparable experience to those consumers who don’t want to share their private information.

The U.K. Cracks Down on Cookies

Allison Howen — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 02:00:00 GMT

The U.K.’s cookie law, which requires website owners to ask permission before installing certain types of cookies on to users’ machines, went into effect earlier this week – meaning that website owners in the U.K. need to make sure that they are compliant.

One way to become compliant is with a new and free Web service from high-performance tag management systems provider Ensighten. The service, Ensighten PrivacyEU, not only helps publishers, marketers and merchants become compliant, but also complements the recently launched Ensighten PrivacyDNT service.

Together, these free services offer a complete solution for consumer online privacy initiatives.

Ensighten PrivacyEU is easy to set up and doesn’t have a limitation on traffic volume or the number of Web domains supported. Publishers are required to add a single line of code to their websites so that site visitors from the U.K. can be recognized and presented with a dialogue box that requests their consent for any data collection that will be used for tracking purposes.

Additionally, the Ensighten PrivacyEU solution leverages tag classification data provided by PrivacyChoice, and is also based on the same technology that powers Ensighten’s enterprise-class privacy solution, Ensighten Privacy.

“The laws emerging in the European Union invariably go far beyond the recommendations and best practices embodied in the Do Not Track standard that is evolving in the United States,” said Des Cahill, VP of marketing at Ensighten. “Publishers and e-tailers worldwide need to pay careful attention to the ePrivacy Directive and ensure their websites conform to its requirements. Ensighten PrivacyEU provides simple and free compliance with these laws and enables them to reassure site visitors that their rights are being respected.”

LiveRail Integrates TRUSTe for OBA Compliance

Pete Prestipino — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 16:30:00 GMT

The mere presence of behavioral advertising continues to rile privacy advocates, but some interesting solutions are emerging which aim to help companies at least more effectively communicate their privacy practices to consumers.

Online video advertising platform LiveRail for example just announced a partnership with privacy solutions provider TRUSTe to help its advertisers achieve compliance with the DAA’s (Digital Advertising Alliance) Self-Regulatory Program for Online Behavioral Advertising.

Advertisers using LiveRail’s platform can now choose to use the compliance service of TRUSTe’s TRUSTed Ads platform, the self-regulatory platform for behavioral advertising privacy online which features the Advertising Option Icon on in-ad placements. Advertising agencies that work with both LiveRail and TRUSTe are essentially now able to implement the DAA compliance tools into their video ads via one user interface.

“Brands need to be transparent with consumers, but it’s still difficult to navigate the growing video space,” said Mark Trefgarne, LiveRail CEO. “TRUSTe’s expertise and experience in online privacy immediately ensures our advertisers they are meeting OBA regulatory requirements and serving our customer base by adhering to the highest privacy standards in the industry.”

Consumer Confidence, Trust and Privacy

Administrator — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 20:55:00 GMT

Privacy management solution provider TRUSTe issued the first Consumer Confidence Edition of its ongoing Privacy Index Series which measures privacy concerns and sentiments of U.S. adults online and the impact on businesses.

The study revealed that 90 percent of online adults worry about their privacy online in general and 41 percent don’t trust most businesses with their personal information online. Most shocking was that 88 percent of online adults avoid doing business with the companies who they believe don’t protect their privacy. And to make matters worse, 95 percent of adults believe companies have a responsibility to protect their privacy online.

TRUSTe's findings reveal an alarming lack of consumer confidence online which can have serious negative consequences for businesses," said Chris Babel, CEO of TRUSTe. "That said, the research also revealed that nearly 60 percent of online adults trust most businesses with their personal information online -- proof that many companies take privacy seriously and are rewarded as a result. TRUSTe is committed to working with businesses to help build online trust with consumers by providing a comprehensive suite of solutions designed to address privacy concerns across all their online businesses on a worldwide basis."

Facebook Announces Changes

Allison Howen — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 02:00:00 GMT

Facebook has announced new updates to its privacy features that will give users more control over the way things are shared.

Some of the new changes are similar to Google Plus’ Circles, making it possible for users to decide exactly who can view shared items like posts, photos, tags and other content.

These changes moved some of the privacy controls inline from the settings page, so now when posts are created, users will also decide who will be able to view specific posts with a dropdown menu that is located below the post. The dropdown menu gives the options for posts to be shared with everyone, friends of friends, friends or the ability to customize who will see the post.

Improvements have also been made with tagged photos. Instead of logging into Facebook and being surprised by random tagged photos that have appeared on your wall, users will now have the ability to approve tagged photos before they are displayed.

Additional changes include the ability for users to view their profile as another person with a “View Profile As…” button, as well as better options regarding location.

Previously locations could only be added through a smart phone, but now location can be added to anything— including previous posts. Soon the “places” option will be removed from smart phones.

Lastly, we noticed this change a few weeks ago— a recommendation option on business pages. This option provides a little box that is visible on the right-hand side of a business page, which allows someone to leave a recommendation.

By making a recommendation, consumers are sharing their comments with their friends and that business’s fans. The feature kind of brings back the “share” feature that allowed someone to share a business with their friends.

Take advantage of this feature by visiting your favorite business pages, and feel free to drop by our page and recommend us.

Lyris Takes Lead on Privacy among ESP’s

Pete Prestipino — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 06:00:00 GMT

With the recent rash of high-profile security breaches, privacy and security are top of mind with big brands and their consumers. Taking steps to ensure that users’ information is secure and remains private matters to the bottom line.

Online marketing service provider Lyris, best known for its Lyris HQ and ListManager platforms, announced that TRUSTe certified its website to display its Web Privacy Seal. With 71% of users looking for trust marks before purchasing or doing business online, showing support matters immensely.

The TRUSTe Web Privacy Seal ensures users that Lyris’ online privacy policy has been reviewed and approved by a third party and includes information practices consistent with the Federal Trade Commission’s Fair Information Practice Principles. TRUSTe also provides its clients and their customers with a process to resolve privacy disputes through its online Watchdog Dispute Resolution service – resolving more than 9,000 complaints each year.

“TRUSTe certification is an important milestone in our ongoing commitment to building customer trust and demonstrating that we take data privacy very seriously,” said Tina Stewart, senior vice president, marketing for Lyris. “With this certification, we are not only following industry best privacy practices, but also leading the way in responding to our customer’s demands for transparency and accountability when it comes to their privacy online.”

The New Reality of Facebook Advertising

Mike Phillips — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 17:56:00 GMT

Facebook has announced a new advertising scheme called “Sponsored Stories.” It is interesting – and risky. Some might even say it is dangerous. Small businesses in particular should pay very close attention.

First, the basics of how Sponsored Stories works, then a closer look at what it means to your business.

Advertisers can now buy advertisements based on user activity and interaction with that brand’s Facebook page, status updates or other interaction. Those ad buys are Sponsored Stories, and it works like this:

When a Facebook user "likes" a page or a piece of content from a brand that has bought Sponsored Story advertising, that action will be used in a paid Sponsored Story advertisement, seen on the right sidebar of that user’s friends’ pages. Those friends will see that you liked a story or a brand page then be encouraged to visit and like the same page (brand). For example, “Joe likes Acme Cola, you should too!” Many of these types of advertisements are already in use. But now there's more. Much more.

In the example at right, you can see that Jessica “checked in” with her local Starbucks along with a friend, Philip. Now, friends of theirs will see this ad from Starbucks on their profiles, under the "Sponsored Story" heading. This, in addition to the original interaction seen on users' news feeds. It's a double dip.

"Application Plays" work in a similar way. If a user decides to use a branded application, the action will be broadcast. So, if a Coca-Cola app was used to upload a photo, your friends will see it in their news feeds and again as a Sponsored Story advertisement (‘Joe used the Coca-Cola app to upload a photo’).

In addition, any content posted by the brand and then "liked" by a user will show up in the user's news feed as well as on their friends’ pages as, you guessed it, a Sponsored Story ad.

Implications

This will surely set off massive privacy concerns and outrage from many Facebook users, just as Beacon did when it was announced. As it stands today, users do have the option to block brand feeds, just like they would hide updates from overactive friends. However, users cannot opt out of, or turn off Sponsored Stories. So, if you interact with a brand that is using Sponsored Stories (or several), all interactions with that brand(s) is eligible for use in an ad – whether you like it or not.

A line in a post from Inside Facebook puts it rather bluntly (and accurately) with, "Sponsored Stories co-opt a user’s actions, voice, and identity to create ads that resonate with their friends." For users, "co-opt" in the same sentence as "identity" is downright scary. It also raises some interesting questions for advertisers and brands.

Little doubt exists as to the effectiveness of user Facebook activity in spreading a brand's message and attracting new advocates. This new generation word-of-mouth marketing appears so effective, in fact, that Facebook advertising revenue is expected to at least double in 2011, to the tune of $4 billion or more. But, as users cannot opt out of Sponsored Stories, will it make them reluctant to "like" an advertiser's page or check in to a store's location? Does this, in fact, remove all incentive for a Facebook user to connect with a brand by turning them into unwilling advertising shills?

In effect, user actions and behaviors are working to directly benefit the bottom line of corporations, without a shred of compensation. Facebook users are now unpaid advertising employees – most of them, unwittingly so. This is not the land of voluntary brand advocacy and user engagement and grass-roots viral marketing. This is simply pay-to-play … and the cost is user privacy.

Of course, users have a choice. They can choose not to interact with brands on Facebook. And for many, that will be exactly what they do. The most affected businesses will be smaller ones that rely on painstakingly-built Facebook communities. They rely on “likes” and shares. They might not buy a single advertisement on Facebook and therefore the user’s activity would never be shared – but it doesn’t matter. Once users understand the implications, every business is a suspect, and not to be trusted.

Where’s the silver lining, you ask?

Facebook is well aware of the wild success of Groupon, LivingSocial and other so-called mob marketing initiatives. And that could very well be what they are working toward with Sponsored Stories.

For brands, these ads could have incredible potential. Imagine a great piece of content is “liked” by one of your brand’s fans. Then, that “like” is seen by 200 of that person’s friends (potentially twice). Subsequently, one of those friends “likes” it, too, and it is then seen by 200 more friends (potentially twice). You see where this is headed. The same could work for a check-in at a business location or a killer new Facebook app. But what could possibly make a user a willing partner in an advertising scheme? Discounts. Sales. Free trial memberships. Value. And that is where businesses must go.

That is the new reality of advertising on Facebook.

Personalization or Privacy?

Pete Prestipino — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 15:15:00 GMT

Giving Customers What They Want With the Privacy They Deserve

E-commerce and Internet marketing professionals have always grappled with personalizing online content for each visitor while preserving privacy. Many have given up, relying instead on opt-in initiatives such as newsletters, RSS alerts and social networking tools. Others spend enormous amounts of time and money monitoring and manually updating their sites at great expenses while lowering profit margins. Neither of those options deliver sustainable results.

Google's New Behavioral Ad Model

Pete Prestipino — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 15:00:00 GMT

As long as anyone would listen, I've been saying that Google is nothing more than a behavioral advertising company. Today, they proved it.

Google has announced new capabilities that will help advertisers reach an even more highly targeted audience. In addition to matching ads with the topic of a web page (called contextual advertising), Google will now provide advertisers with the ability to reach users based on their interests - despite the content they are currently viewing - wherever they are on the Google content network.

Interest-based (behavioral) advertising provides Web marketers with the ability to reach users based on a past interaction with them, such as visits to a website. For example, say you were an aspiring chef and visited a lot of recipe sites. Google will show you ads for products like cooking knives or aprons. Google will in addition provide a choice of interest categories, such as "Food & Drink," so advertisers can reach the audience most likely to be responsive.

Google believes users browsing the web will benefit from the additional relevancy that interest-based and behavioral ads can provide. You would think it would cause privacy advocates to choke on their Cocoa Puffs this morning, and you'd be right. Fortunately, Google's thought about that too. Simply visit the new Ads Preferences Manager to see what interest categories Google thinks you fall into. Users will be able to add and remove categories themselves that they want ads shown for and the categories they don't. The Ads Preferences Manager can be found by clicking on most "Ads by Google" links you see on ads throughout the web.

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Privacy Matters: Should Your Site Be P3P Compliant?

Pete Prestipino — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 14:28:00 GMT

Privacy is of major importance for internet retailers and pretty much anyone else that aims to establish a trusting relationship with end-users on the Internet. P3P, the platform for privacy preferences project (say that three times fast) enables websites to express their privacy practice in a standard format that can be retrieved automatically and interpreted easily by user agents. Essentially P3P is a protocol allowing websites to declare their intended use for the information they collect about website users and visitors. With users becoming increasingly concerned about how their information and their Web habits are being used by the sites they visit and third party affiliates, P3P is designed to give users more control over the kind of information that they allow to release. P3P enabled web browsers can decide what to do by comparing these policies with the user's stored preferences. There are many benefits and criticisms of P3P as a means to protect users privacy, but in the end, any effort you can take to be honest and open with how visitor information is being collected, used and stored will add to your credibility.

Here are a few online tools and resouces which will help create or review a P3P compliant privacy policy:

Privacy Bot : PrivacyBot.com is a privacy seal program that helps web sites implement good privacy practices. Generates near-custom privacy policies, including XML versions based on the P3P specification. Includes online registration of sites to display the branded Trustmark.

P3P Builder : P3PBuilder is a P3P policy generator that creates privacy policies to the W3C specification. It is web-based, easy to use, and is provided with technical support to assist with installation.

P3P Display : P3P Display is a free web based utility that will read in a P3P policy file from a provided web-site, parse the contents, and display a human readable form based on the attributes in the policy and text definitions from the P3P specification. It will also display an equivelent compact policy that reflects the site policies.