A conflict is rising between digital media buyers and online publishers following the proposal of new trading terms by GroupM's digital agencies, The Australian reported Monday. The terms and conditions stipulate that all user data yielded by the communication service's online campaigns belongs to the agency or the advertiser and not the publisher, whose site runs the advertisements.

While the new terms have already been agreed to by publishers in the United States, Australian publishers such as Fairfax, News Limited and Ninemsn want access to and control over data created by campaigns running on their Web sites. Among the dissenters, Fairfax plans to change its trading terms to ban advertisers from tagging its audience while Ninemsn is updating its terms to ban ad-tagging unless the advertising has obtained the publisher's written consent.

GroupM Interaction's Asia Pacific CEO Alice Manners told The Australian that the terms are meant to keep client data confidential so that "when media are talking to other clients they're not revealing our clients' data."

The hostility that characterises both sides of the debate is symptomatic of "a level of animosity building between digital media buyers and Internet publishers not seen in other media," according to industry observers, The Australian article stated.