Trend sign: Radical transparency in online advertising

Note: Common technical measures to make advertising effective are met with skepticism and rejection by many media professionals and therefore by large parts of the audience. Only radical transparency can help.

So far, there are hardly any signs, especially in Switzerland, that the online advertising industry has recognized the signs of the times. In particular, anonymous behavioral tracking using cookies repeatedly triggers diffuse fears. If these are not addressed, the industry runs the risk of politicians seizing on the issue in a way that attracts public attention and enacting unwelcome regulations. Because the matter is actually simple and obvious: There is countless free content on the Internet because it is financed by advertising. In other words, consumers pay for this by paying with data about themselves and their behavior instead of money. This is nothing new. If it was and is done on paper, it is called direct marketing, without much offense being taken. Online publishers should make no secret of the fact that they market their content in this way. Nor should they make a secret of the fact that they can achieve better returns by collecting behavioral data.

Radical, honest transparency is needed to reveal these methods and make them understandable. Because they contain nothing forbidden or objectionable, which can also be communicated in this way. If consumers can see and accept the advantages for them, a lot has already been gained. Consumers should consequently be offered the choice of avoiding online advertising altogether - and paying for it. (When used in this way, paywalls can make sense.) And then a further step can follow: Anyone who makes unfounded arguments against online advertising or avoids it (using ad blockers etc.) should be branded a pirate (or at least a free rider) in the eyes of public opinion, just as the music and film industry has been doing for years with its anti-piracy campaigns. (cjw)