Targeted Ads to Become More Transparent with Opt-Out System

Targeted advertising is certainly controversial, but the opportunities it offers advertisers and, potentially, users as well are too great to ignore. Advertisers are still exploring the possibilities of the technology, but several groups in the US have now rolled out a program which would make targeted ads more transparent and would offer consumers ways to opt out of them.

Targeted ads run by the companies that have joined the initiative, and quite a few have including Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and AOL, will be accompanied by a small icon which would, in theory, indicate to visitors that the ads tracks visitor data.

The project has been presented earlier and is now ready for implementation. Initially called the Power I, the system adds an icon of a lowercase 'i' surrounded by a triangular shape.

The shape may have morphed since it was first displayed, but the idea is the same. Clicking on the icon would bring up details on why the ads in question are shown, specifically what sites that users visited in the past triggered the display of the ad.

Users will also be able to opt-out of targeting advertising from the same place. The advertisers argue that the added transparency should be enough to keep users informed and that the ones that are really concerned for their privacy can simply opt-out.

If a user does opt out, and ad company can simply serve regular ads, or ads that are targeted more generally, i.e. not at that particular visitor, or it can stop serving ads altogether to the visitor.

The 5,000 or so companies that are involved with the project would also have to adhere to some stricter rules when it comes to behavioral advertising, mostly focused on providing more transparency.

The advertising companies are trying to avoid government regulation over behavioral ads, as there have been indications that official agencies are not pleased with how things are going now. Privacy groups though are unlikely to be convinced and may continue to ask for opt-in targeted ads.