ADMA celebrates Privacy Awareness Week with the Privacy Commissioner

05 May 2011

ADMA has marked Privacy Awareness Week with an evening event where Australian Privacy Commissioner Timothy Pilgrim spoke about the privacy challenges facing industry and launched the Office of the Information Commissioner’s Online Behavioural Advertising: Know Your Options fact sheet.

Designed to assist consumers make choices about how their information is used for the delivery of interest-based advertising, the fact sheet dovetails the work done by ADMA, as a founding member of the Australian Digital Advertising Alliance, in creating the Australian Best Practice Guideline for Online Behavioural Advertising and www.youronlinechoices.com.au website.

Mr Pilgrim took the opportunity to endorse both the Guideline and website as important proactive initiatives by industry to educate and promote consumer choice, saying that it is important that how information is being collected and used is understood.

"Many people may have noticed that online advertising reflects their personal interests and online habits, but they don't know how advertising and data collection companies build a picture of browsing habits and interests to deliver advertising," Mr Pilgrim said.

The key message of Privacy Awareness Week this year is to encourage individuals to ensure that they safeguard their privacy by thinking about what they post on social networking sites and making use of the privacy settings which are available on these sites. The Privacy Commissioner also spoke about some other initiatives being undertaken in this area, including a survey to test understanding and concerns about privacy and social media which can be accessed here.

ADMA will today also host a Privacy Awareness Week event in Melbourne featuring a presentation on email and mobile marketing from Phil Smith, Chair of the ADMA Digital, and a presentation by Corporate and Regulatory Affairs Director Melina Rohan on the Guideline for Online Behavioural Advertising.