In May, 2009 the Interactive Advertising Bureau (“IAB”) published a list of best practices for social media advertising which address various topics including user privacy and key terms. The best practices are designed to help protect consumer privacy, provide clarity regarding the type of data being collected and how it is being used, and define consumer consent. In addition, the best practices are intended to promote the growth of social media advertising by giving advertisers and social networks a basic set of rules.
The guidelines recommend opt-in and opt-out procedures for the use of profile data in ads and recommend that advertisers allow users to view and approve advertisements that feature their likeness and information before they are shown. The IAB also recommends that users be able to pick which contacts will see the advertisement, or opt-in to have the advertisements shown to all of their contacts. The IAB’s social advertising guidelines are available here: http://www.iab.net/media/file/Social-Advertising-Best-Practices-0509.pdf.
