Live From Washington: Self-Regulation Dominates DMA Gathering

Self-regulation was the magic word for the second and final day of the Direct Marketing Association’s Government Affairs Conference yesterday at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, DC.

David Beier, the chief domestic policy advisor to Vice President Al Gore, said that “after some considerable prodding…many companies have stepped up a self-regulatory regime.” But, he added, the companies that don’t play by the rules “may come back to haunt you.”

Beier predicted it would be difficult for the government to sit back while some companies concern themselves with privacy and others don’t. “Eventually I think the pressure will be substantial to legislate some sort of safety net to protect privacy online,” he said.

With the departure of Ira Magaziner, Beier is the administration’s point person on e-commerce.

Answering a question about Gore’s announcement Wednesday that leaders of the online industry have agreed to create a standardized “Parents’ Protection Page,” Beier said, “Even for people who aren’t Internet savvy, it’s pretty easy to help guide your children.”

Starting in July, major sites will provide a place reached through one-click that will have safety tips for parents and kids, a resource section for filtering and blocking information, a help line and suggestions for good content for children.

At the DMA conference, Rep. W.J. “Billy” Tauzin (R-LA), who favors self-policing, predicted that the subcommittee he chairs would eventually hold hearings on how well industry is doing in that regard. Tauzin heads the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade and Consumer Protection, which addresses many issues of concern to direct marketers.

In his talk, Federal Trade Commissioner Orson G. Swindle said that Congress should pass a moratorium on online privacy regulation similar to the three-year ban on discriminatory Internet taxes in the Internet Tax Freedom Act of 1998.

A member of the commission set up by the Internet Tax Freedom Act also addressed the gathering. Stanley S. Sokul, a consultant who represents the Association for Interactive Media on the panel, said that a pressing matter for direct marketers is to win over the online industry–which is not as familiar with taxation of distance selling. Sokul said the Internet people are being courted by the state and local tax authorities seeking to impose taxes in cyberspace. The Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce will hold its first meeting on June 21.