CFBAI_ProgramBackgrounds_4-28-2020

 

Center for Industry
Self-Regulation

BBB National Programs’ Center for Industry Self-Regulation (CISR), a 501(c)(3) non-profit, was created to harness the historic power of self-regulation, also called soft law, in the United States in order to empower business accountability. CISR is dedicated to education and research that supports responsible business leaders developing fair, future-proof best practices, and to the education of the general public on the conditions necessary for industry self-regulation.

Harnessing the Power of Self-Regulation to Empower Business Accountability

For Funders

Our research explores how to solve collective challenges in the business community, calling on decades of experience operating independent self-regulatory and co-regulatory programs.

 

 

For Business

Learn about the challenges facing your industry to help identify opportunities for new best practices that will enhance the trust and respect of consumers, partners, and regulators.

 

 


 

In the Incubator


 

TeenAge Privacy Program (TAPP)

The TAPP Incubator project has designed safeguards for the personal data of teens, building a bridge between privacy protections for children and adults that can serve as a global model. The TAPP Roadmap is an operational framework designed to help companies develop digital products and services that consider and respond to the heightened potential of risks and harms to teenage consumers and to ensure that businesses collect and manage teen data responsibly. Get the Roadmap

AI in Hiring and Recruiting

In the recruiting and hiring process, where algorithms increasingly provide an aid to human decision making, how can we combine important technological innovation with a proactive approach to employment law regulations and future-proof standards? The AI Incubator project has developed the Principles and Protocols for Trustworthy AI in Recruiting and Hiring, a global baseline standard for the use of AI applications in recruitment and hiring providing practical and actionable guidance for employers and vendors seeking to leverage AI technology responsibly and equitably. Learn More

Emerging Areas of Interest

Connected Vehicles: As cars become smarter and more interconnected, do the rules of the road need to change? How do we anticipate the new normal of safety, security, and data protection, while ensuring that businesses remain on a level playing field and consumers are heard?

The Metaverse: The rules of the road for the metaverse, which is being hailed as the next big technological revolution, are still being written. How can we ensure consumers are protected while encouraging innovation as businesses explore this next digital frontier?
Get Involved

 

 

 

 

Research

CISR focuses on research that addresses industry-wide challenges to develop fair, future-proof best practices.

 

 

 

 

 

Blogs

Comment to NTIA on Youth Mental Health, Safety, and Privacy Online

Nov 16, 2023, 12:37 PM by BBB National Programs Privacy Initiatives Team
BBB National Programs responded to the NTIA request for comment to gather feedback on protecting minors’ mental health, safety, and privacy online.

BBB National Programs appreciates efforts by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to gather input and feedback on best practices to protect minors’ mental health, safety, and privacy online and was pleased to have the opportunity to submit comments. 

Online platforms have become a central part of children’s social and emotional development. While this trend was evident before the COVID-19 pandemic, the measures taken to address the public health crisis restricted children’s access to in-person opportunities and hastened the adoption of digital spaces for information gathering, exploration, and play. 

The 2023 Familial and Adolescent Health Survey by Gallup and the Institute for Family Studies found that U.S. teenagers (aged 13 to 18) now spend an average of 4.8 hours on social media applications per day. More than half - 51% of teens surveyed - reported a minimum of four hours per day on social media applications.

This means that the average teen’s time spent on social media per day has likely more than quadrupled from the pre-pandemic average of 1.1 hour of daily use reported by Common Sense Media in 2019. While online platforms are an increasingly vital aspect of youth social life in the 21st century, these same platforms may pose critical risks of harm to minors’ privacy, safety, and wellbeing. 

Furthermore, a 2022 survey by Trusted Future found that youth online privacy is a top policy concern for parents. Such concerns have already animated state legislatures around the country to take action, adopting new youth-centric data privacy and online safety laws. Youth privacy and safety has also generated significant litigation, including alleged consumer protection law violations for potential safety and mental health-related harms stemming from the use of the platforms for minors, as well as violations of the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).

Given the concerns of parents and the findings of other research on the privacy, safety, and wellbeing of youth in digital spaces, it is essential to ensure that platforms are designed in a responsible and trustworthy manner that respects the needs of minor users and mitigates foreseeable harms that pose heightened risks to minors. The Biden Administration’s leadership in developing an interagency Task Force on Kids Online Health & Safety is a vital step toward this goal.

BBB National Programs welcomes the opportunity to provide perspective on this critical issue. Our response begins with a brief overview of our accountability programs, which provide important self-regulatory privacy guardrails for companies to follow amid a patchwork of state privacy laws addressing minors’ online privacy and safety protections. The bulk of our submission shares recommendations that provide a response to the questions in the NTIA RFC. 

Here is an overview of our recommendations:

  • Recognize and prioritize the role of third-party accountability programs, which can play a pivotal role in strengthening protections for children and teens in online environments; 
  • Adopt the BBB National Programs’ TeenAge Privacy Program (TAPP) Roadmap as a reference point and a uniform, risk-based approach to considering teen privacy protections that support industry third-party accountability;
  • Recognize the importance of existing COPPA safe harbor programs that uplift children’s advertising and privacy protections; and
  • Expand community-based digital citizenship opportunities, public-private partnerships, and campaigns to teens to ensure teens and their parents are aware of the shared responsibilities between companies and families.

 

Independent accountability mechanisms can play a vital role in ensuring that online services and platforms are designed for the needs and sensitivities of minors. These measures should aim to protect the rights and interests of all stakeholders, foster transparency, and promote continuous improvement and innovation.

2024 will inspire a host of new policy proposals and expectations from the White House, Congress, and other federal and state leaders. It is up to companies to step up and leverage new solutions and existing resources to set a robust standard for our next-generation youth, who are digital natives.

 

 

 

News

Press Release

Justin Connor Named Executive Director for The Center for Industry Self-Regulation, a Foundation Created by BBB National Programs

McLean, VA – May 17, 2022 – Recognizing a timely opportunity to promote and grow the next generation of independent industry self-regulation programs, The Center for Industry Self-Regulation today named Justin Connor as its inaugural Executive Director. The announcement was made by Eric D. Reicin, President...

Read the Press Release