IAB takes the FTC

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is reassessing its self-regulatory practices to better equip local businesses against unwanted government regulation, reports ClickZ.

Over the past year "the IAB has been in discussions with several of the major media and trade organizations including the ANA and four A's [Association of National Advertisers and American Association of Advertising Agencies]" to create a broader self-regulatory body for interactive advertising, said President and CEO Randall Rothenberg.

In April the organizations filed a joint document with the Federal Trade Commission, arguing "self-regulation and leading business practices [are] the most effective framework to protect consumers and further innovation in … privacy and behavioral advertising."

The IAB recently created a new membership level for small online publishers, an effort expected to generate support among local online publications. Rothenberg also opted to testify at a House hearing about online advertising's effect on small business growth.