Online Privacy Alliance
Encyclopedia
The Online Privacy Alliance (or "OPA") was a cross-industry coalition
of more than 80 global companies and associations, including some of the biggest names in e-commerce, formed in 1998 with the aim of providing a unified voice for companies in the Internet
industry to contribute to the definition of privacy policy
for the Internet.
The group's stated mission was to lead and support self-regulatory
initiatives that "create an environment of trust and ... foster the protection of individuals' privacy
online and in electronic commerce."
The Alliance provided a framework for debate
and a forum for attracting companies engaged in e-commerce across a wide variety of sectors -- technology
, telecommunications, publishing
, entertainment
, marketing
, finance
, consumer
, and more.
The Alliance's last press release was issued in November 1999
The Principles of the Online Privacy Alliance formed the cornerstone of the Principles later created by the Network Advertising Initiative
or NAI.
Identify and advance effective online privacy policies across the private sector
A. Support and foster the development and use of self-regulatory enforcement mechanisms and activities, as well as user empowerment technology tools, designed to protect individuals' privacy
B. Support compliance with and strong enforcement of applicable law
s and regulation
s;
C. Support and foster the development and use of practices and policies that protect the privacy of children
D. Promote broad awareness of and participation in Alliance initiatives by business
es, non-profits
, policy makers and consumers
E. Seek input and support for Alliance initiatives from consumer, business, academic, advocacy
and other organizations that share its commitment to privacy protection.
Coalition
A coalition is a pact or treaty among individuals or groups, during which they cooperate in joint action, each in their own self-interest, joining forces together for a common cause. This alliance may be temporary or a matter of convenience. A coalition thus differs from a more formal covenant...
of more than 80 global companies and associations, including some of the biggest names in e-commerce, formed in 1998 with the aim of providing a unified voice for companies in the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
industry to contribute to the definition of privacy policy
Privacy policy
Privacy policy is a statement or a legal document that discloses some or all of the ways a party gathers, uses, discloses and manages a customer or client's data...
for the Internet.
The group's stated mission was to lead and support self-regulatory
Self-regulation
The term self-regulation can signify:*Autoregulation*Homeostasis, in systems theory*Self-control, in sociology / psychology*Self-regulated learning, in educational psychology*Self-regulation theory , a system of conscious personal health management...
initiatives that "create an environment of trust and ... foster the protection of individuals' privacy
Privacy
Privacy is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves and thereby reveal themselves selectively...
online and in electronic commerce."
History of activities
The Online Privacy Alliance began meeting formally in the spring of 1998. In June, the Alliance announced its creation, membership, mission and guidelines.The Alliance provided a framework for debate
Debate
Debate or debating is a method of interactive and representational argument. Debate is a broader form of argument than logical argument, which only examines consistency from axiom, and factual argument, which only examines what is or isn't the case or rhetoric which is a technique of persuasion...
and a forum for attracting companies engaged in e-commerce across a wide variety of sectors -- technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
, telecommunications, publishing
Publishing
Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...
, entertainment
Entertainment
Entertainment consists of any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their leisure time. Entertainment is generally passive, such as watching opera or a movie. Active forms of amusement, such as sports, are more often considered to be recreation...
, marketing
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
, finance
Finance
"Finance" is often defined simply as the management of money or “funds” management Modern finance, however, is a family of business activity that includes the origination, marketing, and management of cash and money surrogates through a variety of capital accounts, instruments, and markets created...
, consumer
Consumer
Consumer is a broad label for any individuals or households that use goods generated within the economy. The concept of a consumer occurs in different contexts, so that the usage and significance of the term may vary.-Economics and marketing:...
, and more.
The Alliance's last press release was issued in November 1999
The Principles of the Online Privacy Alliance formed the cornerstone of the Principles later created by the Network Advertising Initiative
Network Advertising Initiative
The Network Advertising Initiative is an industry trade group formed in 1999 that develops self-regulatory standards for online advertising. Advertising networks created the organization in response to concerns from the Federal Trade Commission and consumer groups that online advertising —...
or NAI.
Stated objectives
The Alliance's stated objectives are as follows:Identify and advance effective online privacy policies across the private sector
Private sector
In economics, the private sector is that part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is run by private individuals or groups, usually as a means of enterprise for profit, and is not controlled by the state...
A. Support and foster the development and use of self-regulatory enforcement mechanisms and activities, as well as user empowerment technology tools, designed to protect individuals' privacy
B. Support compliance with and strong enforcement of applicable law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
s and regulation
Regulation
Regulation is administrative legislation that constitutes or constrains rights and allocates responsibilities. It can be distinguished from primary legislation on the one hand and judge-made law on the other...
s;
C. Support and foster the development and use of practices and policies that protect the privacy of children
D. Promote broad awareness of and participation in Alliance initiatives by business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
es, non-profits
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
, policy makers and consumers
E. Seek input and support for Alliance initiatives from consumer, business, academic, advocacy
Advocacy
Advocacy is a political process by an individual or a large group which normally aims to influence public-policy and resource allocation decisions within political, economic, and social systems and institutions; it may be motivated from moral, ethical or faith principles or simply to protect an...
and other organizations that share its commitment to privacy protection.
OPA Guidelines for Online Privacy Policies
Upon joining the Online Privacy Alliance, each member organization agreed that its policies for protecting individually identifiable information in an online or electronic commerce environment would meet the requirements of the OPA's Guidelines, with customization and enhancement as appropriate to its own business or industry sector.Membership organizations
While the initial count of membership organizations was 80, this has since dwindled to around 30, as follows:Member Companies
- Apple ComputerApple ComputerApple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...
- AT&TAT&TAT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
- AWS Convergence Technologies, Inc.
- BoeingBoeingThe Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
- CendantCendantCendant Corporation was a New York-based provider of business and consumer services, primarily within the real estate and travel industries. In 2005 and 2006, Cendant broke up and spun off or sold its constituent businesses...
- DellDellDell, Inc. is an American multinational information technology corporation based in 1 Dell Way, Round Rock, Texas, United States, that develops, sells and supports computers and related products and services. Bearing the name of its founder, Michael Dell, the company is one of the largest...
- DoubleClickDoubleClickDoubleClick is a subsidiary of Google that develops and provides Internet ad serving services. Its clients include agencies, marketers and publishers who serve customers like Microsoft, General Motors, Coca-Cola, Motorola, L'Oréal, Palm, Inc., Apple Inc., Visa USA, Nike, Carlsberg among others...
Inc. - eBayEBayeBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
Inc. - EDS
- Intuit
- MicrosoftMicrosoftMicrosoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
- NestléNestléNestlé S.A. is the world's largest food and nutrition company. Founded and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, Nestlé originated in a 1905 merger of the Anglo-Swiss Milk Company, established in 1867 by brothers George Page and Charles Page, and Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé, founded in 1866 by Henri...
- PricewaterhouseCoopersPricewaterhouseCoopersPricewaterhouseCoopers is a global professional services firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest professional services firm measured by revenues and one of the "Big Four" accountancy firms....
- Time Warner Inc.
- Verizon CommunicationsVerizon CommunicationsVerizon Communications Inc. is a global broadband and telecommunications company and a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average...
- The Walt Disney CompanyThe Walt Disney CompanyThe Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
- WhenU
- ZangoZango (company)Zango, formerly ePIPO, 180solutions and Hotbar, was a software company that provided users access to its partners' videos, games, tools and utilities in exchange for viewing targeted advertising placed on their computers. Zango software is listed as adware by Symantec...
Member Associations
- American Advertising FederationAmerican Advertising FederationThe American Advertising Federation , headquartered in Washington, D.C., is the oldest national advertising trade association, representing 50,000 professionals in the advertising industry. The AAF has a national network of 200 ad clubs located in ad communities across the United States...
- Association for Competitive TechnologyAssociation for Competitive TechnologyThe Association for Competitive Technology is a trade association representing over 3,000 application software developers and small and mid-sized technology companies in the United States and in Europe...
- Business Software AllianceBusiness Software AllianceThe Business Software Alliance is a trade group established in 1988 and representing a number of the world's largest software makers and is a member of the International Intellectual Property Alliance...
- Association of National AdvertisersAssociation of National AdvertisersThe Association of National Advertisers is a representative body for the marketing community in the United States of America. ANA’s membership includes over 400 companies with 9,000 brands that collectively spend over one hundred billion dollars in marketing communications and advertising....
- American Association of Advertising AgenciesAmerican Association of Advertising AgenciesThe 4A's is an American advertising agency trade association.Founded in 1917, their website states that 4A's membership "produces approximately 80 percent of the total advertising volume placed by agencies nationwide." The association issues annual awards for the best agencies, in different...
- Information Technology Association of AmericaInformation Technology Association of AmericaThe Information Technology Association of America is a leading industry trade group for information technology companies. The Association's membership contains most all of the world's major ICT firms and accounts for over 90% of ICT goods and services sold in North America.Former Under Secretary...
- Internet Alliance
- Motion Picture Association of AmericaMotion Picture Association of AmericaThe Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. , originally the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America , was founded in 1922 and is designed to advance the business interests of its members...
- Online Publishers Association
- TRUSTeTRUSTeTRUSTe is a company based in San Francisco, California, best known for its online privacy seals. TRUSTe operates the world’s largest privacy seal program, certifying more than 3,500 websites, including leading online portals and brands like Yahoo, Facebook, Microsoft, Apple Inc., IBM, Oracle...
- The United States Chamber of CommerceUnited States Chamber of CommerceThe United States Chamber of Commerce is an American lobbying group representing the interests of many businesses and trade associations. It is not an agency of the United States government....