Ethics Case Complaint Form –
OBA Compliance

DMA Ethics Review:
The DMA's Committee on Ethical Business Practice is interested in hearing from you if you believe an online behavioral advertising practice is questionable.

To submit a potential case for Committee review, please send this completed form with a copy of the promotion, an example or description of the practice that is of concern to the address below, or via email. We will review the issues you have raised to determine if your concerns warrant a formal ethics investigation. In some cases, the issues can be resolved without Committee action.

But we need your help. Please note that we will not be able to review a matter without supporting documentation in hard copy or via email proof:

Direct Marketing Association
Attention: OBA Compliance
Corporate & Social Responsibility (CSR) Department
1615 L St. NW Suite 1100 Washington, DC 20036-5624

Or via Email
Email: ethics@the-dma.org

Background Information:
General Online Ads:
Advertising seeks to target the right products to the right audience, and makes possible low-or no-cost content and services. Most online ads aren't matched to you as an individual, but to data categories -- such as demographics, interest groups, or location. The web sites you visit work with online advertising companies to provide you with advertising that is as relevant and useful as possible, and the ads are placed according to this criteria.

Interest-Based Online Ads: What is online behavioral advertising?
Online behavioral advertising -- which is also sometimes called "interest-based advertising" -- uses information collected across multiple web sites that you visit in order to predict your preferences and to show you ads that are most likely to be of interest to you. Many companies engaged in OBA will indicate their adherence to ethical best practices for OBA by providing an Advertising Icon to indicate their participation in the self-regulatory program and should be responsive to your concerns and choice requests. The Icon will also be labeled -- Ad Choices.

The self-regulatory program requires the participants to:

• Be transparent about its data collection and use practices associated with OBA, providing you with a clear, meaningful and prominent notice about the practices through a privacy policy and an enhanced notice policy that is specific to OBA. Did you see/review these notices?
• Provide you with consumer control over whether data is collected and used or transferred to third parties for OBA purposes through use of a consumer choice mechanism that you can use to opt-out of such activity by the organization. Were you able to opt-out easily?
• Obtain your consent before a material change is made to its practices regarding OBA data collection and use policies, limiting the collection of sensitive data. What is the policy stated by the company regarding use of sensitive data (such as health, financial information)?

If you have not already done so, please visit www.aboutads.info to learn more about OBA, compliance principles and the opt-out choices you can make for OBA ads.

If you would like to submit a complaint, please provide the following information:

Thank you for your assistance with this important self-regulatory program for online behavioral advertising!

Please Note: If, after review, the Committee believes there are potential violations of the Guidelines for Ethical Business Practice specific to Online Behavioral Advertising, the organization will be contacted and asked to revise or discontinue the promotion and/or practice. The case handling process is confidential. Names of companies under review are not released publicly unless the issues are not resolved, or DMA’s records become the subject of legal process.

A more detailed description of Committee procedures can be found at: www.the-dma.org/guidelines/ethicalbusinesscommittee.shtml.