Thursday, March 24, 2011

Specific Media Furthers Privacy Push

Irvine-based Specific Media, the online advertising network operator, appears to be on a privacy push, saying this morning that it has gained TRUSTe certification. The firm said it is the first digital media company to be certified under the new TRUSTed Data Collection program, a certification focused on privacy controls at Internet ad networks and advertising providers. The move is the latest in a series of privacy moves at the company, which also recently adopted the IAB Ad Option Icon. Specific Media is one of the parties which was sued in August over Adobe flash cookie tracking, and the entire ad network industry has been under the microscope for how they handle ad tracking and personal information tracking. Specific Media said the certification by TRUSTe came after an in-depth audit of its data collection, data retention, user choice options, privacy statement and use of third-party data.