New association aims to bring order to data strategy chaos

A new industry association is seeking to bring order to data chaos for advertisers and media partners through the creation of an industry code of conduct for the collection, use and management of data in Australia.

Data Governance Australia (DGA) will establish best practice industry standards and benchmarks, as well as advocacy, education, support and thought leadership on all aspects of data usage.

Speaking at the association’s launch in Melbourne, DGA chairman and former ACCC chair, Graeme Samuel, said a priority for the DGA would be to create a voluntary code of conduct to allow the industry to self-regulate.

He warned that failing to do so might have led to government intervention, with the possible result of government over-reach that would hinder the growth of the industry. He cited recent controversy regarding the massive breach of customer records at Yahoo! and controversy regarding the collection and retention of personal information by the ABS as two examples of why such an initiative was now needed.

The DGA will operate as a part of ADMA, under general manager, Murray Hyde. Its board is comprised of 12 representatives from a cross-section of industries, including financial institutions, retailers, law firms, real estate corporations, airlines, and specialist data suppliers including Quantium, Woolworths, Qantas Loyalty and Flybuys.

Follow CMO on Twitter: @CMOAustralia, take part in the CMO conversation on LinkedIn: CMO ANZ, join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CMOAustralia, or check us out on Google+: google.com/+CmoAu