A Leibowitz-Led FTC May Strengthen Spotlight on Digital Ads - ClickZ - 0 views
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Karl Wabst on 21 Apr 09Online ad industry will probably continue to be a hot-button if FTC Commissioner Jon Leibowitz is named chairman. The Federal Trade Commission may strengthen its focus on online advertising and privacy if, as is expected, current FTC Commissioner Jon Leibowitz is named chairman of the agency. "He would certainly keep privacy and online advertising as a focus of the FTC, so I think [his potential appointment] does matter," said Mike Zaneis, VP of public policy at the Internet Advertising Bureau. Reports indicate Leibowitz will be named as head of the commission, replacing William Kovacic. Kovacic replaced former Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras in March 2008, when she left to join the private sector as VP and general counsel of Procter & Gamble. "A kind of privacy switch is going to go on at the FTC [once the new chairman is named] and they're going to engage in this issue in a much more serious way," said Center for Digital Democracy Executive Director Jeff Chester. "Under a Leibowitz regime we would get the kind of serious industry analysis that so far has been lacking from the Bush era approach." "Leibowitz has been a leader on privacy issues," said Zaneis, who expects a Leibowitz-run FTC to continue along the agency's current path of pushing for industry self-regulation, rather than creating new regulations for online advertisers. As a commissioner, Leibowitz, a Democrat, has not ruled out FTC regulation of things like behavioral targeting. During a two-day FTC forum held in Washington, D.C. in 2007, Leibowitz noted, "The marketplace alone may not be able to solve all problems inherent in behavioral marketing." He revealed his sense of humor, adding, "If we see problems...the commission won't hesitate to bring cases, or even break thumbs."