At a recent Senate Commerce Committee hearing regarding interest-based advertising, we were all reminded of the importance and need for continued consumer and business education about how interest-based ads work, what choices consumers have in receiving them, and the benefits made possible by this thriving advertising ecosystem.

Truth be told, based on a Digital Advertising Alliance-commissioned poll, consumers understand why the internet is ad funded, and they hold pragmatic opinions about how it is funded ¨C with an appreciation for interest-based ads in particular:

¡¤???????? 92 percent of Americans think free content like news, weather and blogs is important to the overall value of the Internet (64 percent extremely important, 28 percent somewhat important)

¡¤???????? 75 percent prefer ad supported content to paying for ad-free content

¡¤???????? 68 percent prefer to get at least some ads Internet directed at their interests

¡¤???????? 40 percent prefer to get all their ads directed to their interests

¡¤???????? 75 percent say they should be able to choose the ads they want to see as opposed to 11 percent...

One of the challenges of media fragmentation is the ability to make advertising accountable anywhere ¨C and everywhere ¨C a particular audio or video advertisement might be presented. As channels have proliferated in the digital realm, such advertising tracking and monitoring has become that much more complex.

This has presented challenges to actors, for example, in securing accurate compensation for their participation in such ads.

Commercials negotiations between the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), and the Association of National Advertisers-4A¡¯s Joint Policy Committee (JPC) representing the advertising industry, have mandated universal adoption of Ad-ID, the industry standard for identifying advertising assets across all media platforms, in order to provide the identification required for fair talent compensation.

From DAA¡¯s perspective, Ad-ID is one more example of the innovation necessary to ensure a long healthy growth for the ad-funded content which consumers have grown to know and expect. Ad-ID shows what can happen when members of private industry, representing diverse interests, work together to achieve a better advertising ecosystem ¨C something DAA was founded to do on behalf of interest-based advertising.? With Ad-ID registration expanding to help make contracts consistent, SAG-AFTRA members will achieve more precise compensation ¨C even when those ads are interest-based.

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The Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) strongly believes that providing consumers with transparency and choice are fundamental to Internet privacy protections.? For more than a year, we¡¯ve been providing both transparency and choice in our ¡°Advertising Option¡± icon program that brings this awareness ¨C 1 trillion times a month ¨C to all corners of the Internet, as it seeks to explain how interest-based ads are served, and the choices consumers have for limiting data collection and use.

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As it turns out, consumers are very pragmatic about the ad-funded Internet. Their concerns regarding online behavioral profiling for the purpose of serving relevant ads is measured ¨C and is very much lower in context to other privacy concerns regarding digital media. Such is one of the conclusions of a recent Zogby poll we commissioned in early April to gauge American sentiment (see graphic).

Consumer pragmatism will be part of our message this coming week when we testify in Congress regarding the well-established success of our Self-Regulation Principles and Program for Online Behavioral Advertising.

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We also are relying in part on our most recent polling data, as we navigate recent announcement of technology ¨C by Mozilla ¨C that seeks to block all third-party cookies. Cookies are one of the...

Interest-based advertising online relies on the use of third-party cookies ¨C placed there most often by online advertising networks that serve such ads across the Internet on behalf of many brands, large and small.

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Recently, one of our founding trade organization members, Network Advertising Initiative, reported on an initiative of one its members, also a Digital Advertising Alliance participant, ValueClick.

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And what ValueClick is doing is extraordinarily creative. And it is another reminder of how much Internet users have come to rely on tailored content and advertising to make the most of their web experience.

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DAA is proud that the ad-funded, tailored-user experience we support can bring about such valuable innovation. By offering real-time transparency and on-demand choice at a rate of 1 trillion times per month, we educate and empower consumers of the value of interest-based ads. ValueClick's initiative is one more way that the technology behind interest-based advertising can help web users gain the most from their Internet experience.

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ValueClick is applying the power of third-party cookies for two social responsibility initiatives ¨C that of alerting individuals to tornado warnings, and helping to find abducted children through Amber Alerts.

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Through an...

When responsible data use practices are implemented on the internet, a lot of groundwork must happen so that self-regulation mechanisms can afford adequate consumer privacy protection.? There are no silver bullets, shiny objects or checked boxes that ¡°make¡± consumer privacy real online.? Instead, picks and shovels are put to work, and the work is a continuous effort ¨C and much of it is behind the scenes -- to make it easier for the consumer, yet translatable to the way the internet works.? Let me explain.

First, there must be real, impartial, accountability.? Are you certain there is a designated authority that can ensure that privacy promises made to the consumer can be enforced?

Second, the ecosystem of the internet ¨C the publishers, the content providers, the advertisers, the ad networks, the standard bearers, the users and the policymakers ¨C must be in your corner. Have you engendered buy-in from all parties so everyone acts in concert to honor consumer privacy choices?

Third, your approach to consumer privacy must be consistent and in a way that educates as it empowers consumer choice. Are you creating an informed marketplace?

Fourth, a comprehensive privacy program requires that consumer information be secured. Likewise, you have to have some controls about sensitive data.? Are personal finance, health and children¡¯s data protected? Are there principles and practices in place that elevate use of such personal...