McLean, VA – July 5, 2022 – BBB National Programs today announced the eight major corporations and leading law firms that joined as National Partners from January 2022 through June 2022. BBB National Programs is an independent, non-profit organization that oversees more than a dozen national industry self-regulation, accountability, and dispute resolution programs that create a fairer playing field for businesses and a better experience for consumers. 

McLean, VA – June 21, 2022 – BBB National Programs’ data privacy watchdog, the Digital Advertising Accountability Program (DAAP), has issued a new compliance warning against the practice of inferring consent from a consumer’s passive use of a product or service following a notice of interest-based advertising (IBA).

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 and CEO, BBB National Programs, the non-profit organization that is the leading operator of industry self-regulation programs in the U.S.

McLean, VA – March 25, 2022 – Dona Fraser, BBB National Programs’ Senior Vice President, Privacy Initiatives, applauded the agreement in principle to enhance the Privacy Shield Framework resulting from negotiations between the United States and European Commission. Fraser issued the following statement.

McLean, VA – February 8, 2022 – BBB National Programs’ data privacy watchdog, the Digital Advertising Accountability Program (DAAP), has issued a new compliance warning targeting “fingerprinting” of users or devices in connection with the collection or use of cross-app data. DAAP monitors online and mobile advertising, enforcing industry self-regulation principles for data privacy and holding companies accountable to the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) Self-Regulatory Principles, a set of industry best practices for online and mobile interest-based advertising (IBA). 

McLean, VA – January 11, 2022 – BBB National Programs today announced the 85 panel pool members of the 2022 National Advertising Review Board, as well as its 2022 vice chair, Heather Hippsley, who retired in 2020 as Deputy General Counsel of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) where, among many senior roles over 35 years, she served as Assistant Director of the Division of Advertising Practices. 

McLean, VA – January 4, 2022 – BBB National Programs’ Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU) begins monitoring child-directed advertising under the revised CARU Advertising Guidelines, widely recognized industry standards to assure that advertising directed to children is not deceptive, unfair, or inappropriate for its intended audience. The revised guidelines were released in July 2021, and went into effect on January 1, 2022. 

McLean, VA – December 20, 2021 – The Board of Directors of BBB National Programs, an independent non-profit organization that operates more than a dozen independent industry self-regulation, accountability, and dispute resolution programs, today announced that it has welcomed a new member and re-elected three others for the 2021-2024 term. David Cohen, CEO, Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) joins the Board in an ex-officio voting capacity.

New York, NY – November 9, 2021 – Mindful of recent Federal Trade Commission (FTC) actions, BBB National Programs today announced a new, streamlined lane of the expedited Fast-Track SWIFT challenge submission process, one designed specifically to address the prominence and sufficiency of disclosures in national advertising.

McLean, VA – July 29, 2021 – BBB National Programs’ Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU) today announced the issuance of the revised CARU Advertising Guidelines, widely recognized industry standards to assure that advertising directed to children is not deceptive, unfair, or inappropriate for its intended audience. CARU monitors child-directed media to ensure compliance with these guidelines, seeking voluntary cooperation of companies and, where necessary, referral for enforcement action to an appropriate federal regulatory body. The revised Guidelines go into effect on January 1, 2022. At that time, CARU will begin actively investigating cases of non-compliance. 

On 15 June 2021, the International Council for Advertising Self-Regulation (ICAS) announced the winners of its second edition of the ICAS Global Awards. The objective of the ICAS Awards is to reward initiatives that contribute to responsible marketing practices and a more effective and impactful self-regulatory system. BBB National Programs' Direct Selling Self-Regulatory Council, an initiative developed to promote truth and transparency in the direct selling industry including an effective proactive monitoring of the marketplace won the Best Sectoral Initiative award.

McLean, VA, June 4, 2021 – Dona Fraser, Senior Vice President, Privacy Initiatives, BBB National Programs today issued the following statement: BBB National Programs notes with interest the adoption of the updated Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) by the European Commission (EC). Through our Global Privacy Division, we work with organizations of all types and sizes to achieve compliance across a range of privacy frameworks. In this capacity, we advocate for a variety of scalable transfer mechanisms that converge around a set of baseline best practices. While today’s EC announcement partially advances those aims through the approval of updated SCCs, along with the provision of a toolbox for compliance with the Schrems II decision, there remains an urgent need to enhance the Privacy Shield Framework as a core mechanism for transatlantic transfers of personal data.

McLean, VA – January 26, 2021 – Building upon its longstanding privacy protection work in Europe, BBB National Programs today announced its approval by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) as the first U.S.-based non-profit Accountability Agent in the APEC Cross Border Privacy Rules (CBPR) and Privacy Recognition for Processors (PRP) systems. As an Accountability Agent in the APEC privacy certification systems, BBB National Programs will enable companies of all sizes doing business in the 21 APEC economies to demonstrate compliance with internationally recognized data privacy standards.