If you start seeing an unfamiliar “i” icon next to online banner ads in the months to come, take note: it’s all about you. Voluntary adoption of this industry-standard icon by advertisers is designed to fend off privacy regulations while helping consumers understand how advertisers use Web surfing history and demographic profiles to serve up relevant, interest-based ads.   

It’s no secret that advertisers mine user data for insights to help fine-tune the delivery of online media. Thanks to nudging from the U.S. Congress and the Federal Trade Commission, which has warned the industry to self-regulate or face further scrutiny and possible regulations, trade and advocacy groups have banded together to develop self-regulatory principles and adopt an industry-standard icon.

Called the Power I, the icon is expected to start appearing in online ads within the next several months, in similar fashion to the standard recycling icon found on recyclable materials. With no legal requirement for using the icon, it’s debatable how widespread it will become. But without it, there’s the real possibility that privacy concerns will escalate, and the FTC will be forced to step in and regulate.

The icon is expected to link consumers to a page with information about privacy. Federal officials hope the link includes an explanation of how advertisers use Web surfing histories and demographic profiles to serve ads. No one is convinced the icon will solve online privacy issues, but many, including us, are hopeful that it will begin to push the industry into a new era that can accommodate both privacy and profile-based advertising.

Last week, IAB weighed in with their take on some basic, best practices for social advertising. The best practices outlined here are by no means comprehensive and merely provide simple scaffolding for companies to use. There are really three main themes, definitions and examples of social ads, consumer policies specifically related to opt-in and opt-out recommendations; and privacy guidelines.

The most interesting thing to note as your company starts to dabble with social advertising is in the privacy guidelines section. According to IAB, “social media offers a potentially rich data environment for marketers to better understand online consumers. The data and the use of this data may not be considered under traditional privacy policies, creating a potential need for additional privacy policies to govern what and how social data may be used in the context of social advertising.”

It sounds to me like it’s time for a review of privacy policies. Companies need to ensure that data that is captured is used and stored properly. In addition, marketers need to provide clear and concise data disclosure policies. What do you think about the privacy issues that surround social advertising?