Ultimately, you are responsible for protecting your online privacy. However, much of what occurs with online advertising isn't visible to consumers. Without adequate notice, you cannot make informed decisions about what you receive and share online.

The NAI has been a leading voice in the development of solutions to spam, spyware and other online privacy threats. It works with government agencies, public policy organizations and technology vendors to ensure that strong and balanced privacy protections become the standard for all online advertising.

Here are just some of the issues the NAI has addressed in order to help protect your privacy and enhance your online experience:

Cookies (What is a cookie?)
Working with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the NAI created a set of self-regulatory industry standards, called the NAI Principles, that mandate how 3rd party advertising networks can use information about you. These principles detail the protections given to you regarding the use and collection of personally identifiable and non-personally identifiable information for the purposes of targeting online marketing and other messaging. Included are provisions for consumer notice, choice, and dispute resolution. Learn more about the NAI Principles.

Web Beacons (What is a Web beacon?)
The NAI has created a set of standards that cover the use of Web beacons . The NAI Web Beacon Guidelines provide appropriate notice and choice standards for the use of Web beacons on a given Website.

Spam
The NAI formed the Email Sender & Provider Coalition (ESPC) in 2002 to provide policy leadership for legitimate email marketing services and technology providers in the fight against unsolicited email ("spam"). The ESPC's work with the FTC, Congress, state legislators and other public policy institutions on CAN-SPAM -- as well as our work within the industry to establish standards and best practices -- has been instrumental in the fight to control and eliminate spam. Learn more about the ESPC.

Advocacy
As online marketing continues to grow and new marketing technologies evolve, the NAI will remain a vigorous advocate for consumer privacy and responsible online marketing standards and practices and will remain committed to consumer education.