Statement from NAI President & CEO Leigh Freund on the CalPrivacy Settlement with PlayOn Sports Decision

WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 3, 2026) – Today, President & CEO of the NAI, Leigh Freund issued the following statement in response to the CalPrivacy Enforcement Division’s settlement with PlayOn Sports.

“Companies across the digital media industry should take note of this important enforcement decision reached by CalPrivacy. Among the concerns raised, the agency highlights that a business linking only to a third-party opt-out tool has not satisfied its obligation under the CCPA to provide consumers a way to opt out with the business directly.”

“The NAI recognizes that in California and in the many other states with similar consumer privacy laws, businesses must offer consumers methods to opt out with them directly. This is largely why we issued a major update to our consumer resources for online privacy in 2025, to facilitate consumer opt outs and aid compliance with current U.S. state legal requirements.”

In conjunction with sunsetting its legacy third-party opt-out tools, the NAI’s 2025 update included the following key initiatives:

GPC Browser Extension: Launching a user-friendly browser extension for consumers that sends the Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal in a way that conforms with legal requirements across more than a dozen states (see more information or download the NAI’s tool). This enables consumers to automatically signal their opt-out preferences directly to businesses online.
Instructions for Consumers: Updating the NAI website to provide consumers with detailed and easy-to-follow instructions on how to exercise choices via platform-level controls across all of the major technology platforms, including popular web browsers, mobile devices, connected TVs, and streaming devices. This resource also provides instructions and helps facilitate consumer choices directly with NAI member companies.
Thought Leadership: Launching a Consumer Choice Task Force that is focused on developing guidance and best practices for NAI members to assist and promote industry compliance with current state legal requirements, including the requirement that companies honor valid Opt-out Preference Signals and Universal Opt-out Mechanisms under state law;
Privacy Review Program: Launching a revamped, comprehensive privacy review program that gives NAI member companies expert insights into offering and implementing easy to use choice tools, along with additional privacy and data protection guidance.

“The NAI is proud of these industry-leading steps, which are essential to reduce confusion for consumers and enable easy, effective privacy choices,” Freund continues. “This update aligns with the NAI’s Self-Regulatory Framework, a new model for digital advertising self-regulation launched in 2025 to support member companies’ compliance with U.S. privacy requirements.”

MEDIA CONTACT:
Kate Cox-Nowak
media@networkadvertising.org