A few days ago, The Federal Trade Commission presented their proposition on the guidelines for the online ad industry. According to feedback from different parties involved, the search data is not covered in the proposal, the regulations applying only to search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Microsoft.

Responses soon followed, amongst which Microsoft, who encouraged that consumers should be able to choose their participation on the behavioral targeting and that all targeting based on sensitive data should be opt in.

Frank Torres, Microsoft’s director of consumer affairs was qouted by the New York Times saying: "We're supporting what the FTC is proposing, but we also believe that privacy is important for consumers. We're not opposed to going even further" (than the FTC self-regulatory proposal.).

Microsoft called for a five-tiered framework that imposes increasing obligations depending on the type of advertising involved: collecting data about site visitors,  delivering ads on unrelated sites, behavioral advertising, use of personally identifiable information and use of sensitive personal data.

For example, Microsoft said that third parties should be required to obtain affirmative express consent before using sensitive personally identifiable information - such as health or medical conditions, sexual behavior or orientation, or religious beliefs - for behavioral advertising.

The Microsoft plan includes a complete transparency on all its activities, in order to show their clients the company’s level of comitement when it comes to consumer security. Also they want to show through example how certain privacy principles and practices are correctly put into place.

"Online advertising should put consumers in the driver's seat, not only with the information they want to see, but also with the tools to protect their privacy," said Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith, in a statement.

Last month, the Redmond-based company continued its acquisitions of Web and media companies. After last year bought aQuantive, Microsoft acquired Rapt Inc., the leading provider of advertising yield management solutions for digital media publishers.

Rapt’s technology, along with its information and advisory services offerings, will become key components of the Atlas Publisher Suite, part of Microsoft’s Advertiser and Publisher Solutions Group.

Rapt delivers critical yield management technology to many digital media leaders, including Dow Jones & Company, MTV Networks, and Yahoo!; the most recent additions include Expedia, Fox Interactive Media, New York Times, Reuters, and USA Today.

Also in February, Microsoft proposed a new approach on how the effectiveness of an online campaign should be measured. With its Engagement Mapping concept, Microsoft tries to go beyond the current "last ad clicked" standard that has been widely accepted in the last ten years. According to the software company, Engagement Mapping take into account all the various online touchpoints and interactions a consumer experiences before an eventual sale.