For immediate release:
October 17, 2008

Anti-Spyware Coalition Clarifies Applications of Best Practices, Risk Model to Behavioral Targeting

Contact:
Ari Schwartz
(202) 637-9800

Washington D.C. – The Anti-Spyware Coalition (ASC) has concluded its initial review of the group's current working reports. The ASC has come to the conclusion that no revision of the documents and standards is needed at this time to make them inclusive of behavioral targeting practices. Anti-spyware companies use these documents to help determine where the balance lies between a possibly unwanted technology and reasonable user consent and notice. The ASC has yet to see practices undertaken that are not covered by the existing working reports.

The Best Practices, Risk Model, and other documents created by the ASC are technology neutral. The goal is to balance consent factors with the risk factors of any given technology. The documents offer a transparent description of the broad range of behaviors that may be considered risks to user privacy and computing experience, as well as a range of mitigating notice and consent factors. The guidelines in these documents provide the basis for determining the level of notice and consent needed to balance any potential detrimental effects stemming from behavioral advertising market techniques in current use. ASC will continue to monitor the marketplace and reevaluate if any changes are needed in working reports.

About the Anti-Spyware Coalition: The Anti-Spyware Coalition (ASC) is a group dedicated to building a consensus about definitions and best practices in the debate surrounding spyware and other potentially unwanted technologies. Composed of anti-spyware software companies, academics, and consumer groups, the ASC seeks to bring together a diverse array of perspective on the problem of controlling spyware and other potentially unwanted technologies.