Beginning in November 2009, the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) hosted
a series of meeting of its Internet Privacy Working Group (IPWG) to discuss privacy
issues related to the burgeoning area of online data collection for eventual use in the
aggregate rather than for behavioral targeting. Most companies with an online
presence use this so-called online market research to help them understand site and
Internet trends. While best practices have formed around the collection of consumer
information for the purposes of online behavioral advertising, there is little guidance
for companies engaging in the wide range of practices that constitute online market
research. IPWG decided that it would be useful to create a set of best practices for
entities engaging in what we define as the collection of “behavioral online market
research” data. This document contains those best practices.
This document has been crafted with input from companies that engage in market
research, consumer advocates, and market research industry groups. The document
seeks to outline a path by which privacy concerns associated with online market
research data collection practices can be addressed in a way that empowers both
consumers and companies.