By Lou Mastria
Big Idea: When we visit Capitol Hill to meet with lawmakers, or pay a visit to the Federal Trade Commission to brief enforcers, we share valuable data and insights about responsible data-driven advertising.
Big Idea (in full): When we visit Capitol Hill to meet with lawmakers, or pay a visit to the Federal Trade Commission to brief enforcers, we share valuable data and insights about responsible data-driven advertising and the reasons the ad-supported digital ecosystem is valuable and worth protecting for the consumers who benefit from it and the businesses who grow because of it.
Earlier this month, our counsel at Venable LLP and I had the opportunity to join industry colleagues from the 4A’s, Association of National Advertisers, and U.S. Chamber of Commerce to speak with lawmakers and their offices about the implications of a potential federal bill to regulate data collection and use as it pertains to advertising.
For several years, the Digital Advertising Alliance has participated in a coalition – Privacy for America – to enact a pragmatic federal privacy law. Today, there appears to be an opportunity to put forth a bill that could have some momentum.
One Law, Instead of a Potential 50, and Consumer Benefits from Data-Driven Advertising
The reasons why the business community wants such a law begin with simplicity and end with their customers, who place immense value in the information-for-value exchange in today’s digital economy.
The complexity of the current 20 state privacy laws already on the books since 2020 is challenging and expensive to navigate. Research around the cost of compliance with a single California law alone exceeds an estimated $55 billion. Other studies in other states add to these costs and complexities.
Worse, the myriad differences between state laws create tremendous compliance challenges, as a patchwork of policies creates contradictions and confusion. Such burdens are hardly appropriate for an industry that provides consumers with a massive range of free and ad-supported content, apps, and services that households value at more than $30,000 each year. Yes, that’s how much consumers value an ad-financed digital advertising marketplace!
In addition to these immense consumer benefits, there are extraordinary business benefits. The responsible use of data for targeted advertising enables new enterprise formation, small businesses growth, diversity of content, and a competitive economy. Our digital economy helps Main Street thrive and entrepreneurs take off. Thus, having a single set of rules for a single marketplace of interstate commerce needs to be a Congressional priority.
Privacy for America Counsel Michael Signorelli, partner, Venable LLP; Paul Martino, representing Main Street Privacy Coalition; and Amy Shuart, vice president, technology and innovation, Business Roundtable participate in a Capitol Hill briefing on digital advertising’s benefits and its reliance on responsible data collection.
The other reason we talk to lawmakers and regulators at the federal level is the opportunity to share the powerful story of AdChoices and its benefits for consumers. Since 2010, the AdChoices program has engaged hundreds of companies – and thousands of brands – in a proven cross-industry self-regulatory program, that has enabled advertising innovation through responsible data collection and use, while giving consumers information and choices about the types of advertising they receive, all backed by a robust set of Principles that are independently enforced.
Participation in AdChoices is a form of consumer protection for brands and their advertising partners. Over our 15 years, we have garnered statements of support from both sides of the political aisle, from the White House to Congress, from state regulators, and importantly from the Federal Trade Commission, too. Privacy and consumer protection concerns are bipartisan, and both parties are receptive to us in our Hill visits. We serve as a proof point that any federal law ought to have mechanisms for well-meaning businesses to pursue consumer protections through regimes that are flexible and keep up with the dynamic digital advertising marketplace.
In early February, DAA CEO Lou Mastria (foreground) joined with (left to right) Roy Auh, associate, Venable, LLP; Alison Pepper, executive vice president, government relations, 4A’s; Robert Hartwell, partner, Venable LLP; and Michael Signorelli, partner, Venable LLP; attend a briefing on Capitol Hill related to the benefits of digital advertising and the need for a pragmatic federal privacy law.
As a global leader in technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship, the United States should understand the need for a consistent set of national privacy guidelines better than any other country.
Help us tell this compelling story. You are using AdChoices to tell consumers your brand story and your privacy story. So let Congress know about your experience firsthand. Join DAA and our trade association partners when we gather in mid-May 2026 for Advertising Day on the Hill – and maybe, just maybe, we can get that pre-emptive federal privacy law passed that consumers and businesses urgently need.
