Action 229 - Data Append Definition

Hello all.  In an effort to focus our conversation about whether "data append" practices should be allowed/disallowed in the standard, I was tasked with providing a crisp definition of "data append."  I've also included a few use cases which I hope will further help the discussion.

Potential definition of Data Append:  the act of adding new information acquired from a third party to information collected about a website visitor.

Use Cases:  Current business practices that would qualify as a "data append" vary greatly in scope, utility and function.  For example:


1)      Firstparty.com<http://Firstparty.com> partners with Nike.  When a customer buys a Nike shoe, they get 6 months free of a health-related service on the firstparty.com<http://firstparty.com>.  The customer must visit firstparty.com<http://firstparty.com> and enter a code to receive the service.  When the customer visits Firstparty.com<http://Firstparty.com>, they enter the code which firstparty.com<http://firstparty.com> matches up to the sale of the Nike shoe.  The process of matching up a code with the offline sale would be considered a data append.  With restrictions on data append, DNT:1 users would not be able to participate in promotional campaigns.


2)      Firstparty.com<http://Firstparty.com> has a large database of customers.  Occasionally, they buy data from a third party to clean up the database (purge bad email addresses, correct address information, etc).  This would be considered a data append.


3)      A user wants to create an account on Firstparty.com<http://Firstparty.com>.  They type in their address and firstparty.com<http://firstparty.com> uses a third party data provider to automatically fill-in the zip code.  That would be a data append.



4)      Firstparty.com<http://Firstparty.com> sells flowers via business relationships with florists around the country.  When the user visits the site, firstparty.com<http://firstparty.com> might use a third party that matches the user's IP address with the user's likely location within a metropolitan area.  The location information is then used to customize the inventory available to that customer.  This practice would also be a data append.



5)      Firstparty.com might acquire data from a third party about the demographics and behavior of firstparty.com's users.  The third party collected the data after users opted in.  This would be considered a data append despite the fact that users opted in to the third party data collection.


Chris Pedigo
VP, Government Affairs
Online Publishers Association
(202) 744-2967