Internet companies in Britain are being asked to sign up to a new code of conduct for behavioural advertising, in an attempt to quell invasion of privacy concerns over the controversial marketing technology.

The UK’s Internet Advertising Bureau has announced a set of guidelines for the systems, which have stirred up passionate reaction among civil liberties and privacy campaigners. Ten companies have already signed up to the guidelines, including Google, Yahoo and Phorm, the controversial UK behavioural ad company, and the IAB said it was important to come up with standards to codify this area of business. The IAB guidelines include a number of stipulations such as telling users clearly what behavioural tracking involves and gaining their consent for its use.

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