Publishers for Privacy - A Trip to D.C.

This week a group of 16 publishers went to Washington DC to lobby our national leaders on the need for national privacy legislation.

The Interactive Advertising Bureau ( IAB ) and Beeler.Tech organized and arranged meetings with the offices of 3 senators and 3 members of congress. We wore suits and uncomfortable shoes. It was a long, sweltering hot day at the Capitol, but it was important.

The road to a single national privacy law is windy and bumpy at best.  It may take many years to get there, so it could seem like a trip like this was futile - but it was not. This was about education, dialogue and serving as a resource of operators for our legislators.

We are trying to develop a well constructed and thoughtful approach to balancing a user’s right to and expectations of privacy with the need for an ad supported internet.  We went to Washington to help our leaders understand how internet advertising functions, and share some of our challenges with the current proposed legislation.

We spoke about privacy, the impacts of AI and how to approach protections for internet users under the age of 18. Our leaders were receptive and attentive, appreciative of our support and approach, and understanding of the importance of the matter.

To be clear, we publishers support a single national privacy law. 

The American Data Privacy Protection Act (ADPPA), as drafted now has a few major flaws:

1. There is a private right of action: This only leads to frivolous lawsuits and troll litigation. The weight of the burden will crush small businesses and cause large ones to exit digital media publishing altogether
2. It does not preempt all state laws: We cannot have a federal law serving as “the minimum” while states can add more stringent regulations.  Geo-location is fraught at best on digital devices, so managing compliance at the state level is nearly impossible technically.  Publishers are okay taking a more restrictive approach, as long as it brings uniformity and allows them to operate profitably.  Remember, most publishers are not the bad-actors in this data game.
3. It effectively ends all cross-company behavioral advertising: Without the ability to target and measure advertising, brands will depart the internet for channels that have cheaper reach and similar limitations.  The size of the pie for digital advertising will shrink, and that means publishers will go out of business.  

That’s the point here, really. If patchwork legislation or an ill conceived national law rules the land, we will see a decline in free information across the internet. Small businesses will no longer be able to use the internet for affordable growth or reach. Monopolies will be enriched and entrenched. Access to knowledge will be curtailed, especially for those who can least afford it. Local news will shrivel away and national news will tip beyond any remaining semblance of balanced reporting.

The internet is an ad supported environment, and we need to support the mechanisms of advertising to ensure its healthy survival.

Here are the meetings we had:

1. Senator Schumer (D-NY)
2. Senator Blackburn (R-TN)
3. Senator Cantwell (D-WA)
4. Representative Veasey (D-TX)
5. Representative Armstrong (R-ND)
6. Representative Bilirakis (R-FL)

Thank you and kudos to all who attended and helped!: Jana Meron , Jason Tate , Catherine Beattie , Steve Mummey , Kevin Antoine , Jonathan Harmon , Chao Liao , Emily Christner , Kerel Cooper , Michael Newman , Jeff Burkett , Samuel Youn , Susan Parker , Rob Beeler Lartease T. Virginia Poe , Erick Harris, Melissa S Chapman , and Scott Messer