Harnessing the Power of Self-Regulation to Empower Business Accountability
The boundaries of corporate social responsibility are rapidly expanding, emboldening forward-thinking business leaders to double down on commitments to transparency, truth, and accountability. And as economic and technological innovations accelerate, businesses can and must find meaningful ways to demonstrate a renewed commitment to an honest, fair, and trustworthy marketplace for all.
Our Mission
Getting Self-Regulation Right
The Center for Industry Self-Regulation (CISR), a 501(c)(3) non-profit, was created by BBB National Programs to harness the historic power of self-regulation, also called soft law, in the United States in order to empower business accountability. CISR is dedicated to education and research that supports responsible business leaders developing fair, future-proof best practices, and to the education of the general public on the conditions necessary for industry self-regulation.
For Funders
Our research explores how to solve collective challenges in the business community, calling on decades of experience operating independent self-regulatory and co-regulatory programs.
For Businesses
Learn about the challenges facing your industry to help identify opportunities for new best practices that will enhance the trust and respect of consumers, partners, and regulators.
Events
The 2025 Soft Law Summit will be held on October 7, 2025, in Washington, DC. It will bring together industry leaders, academics, and policy makers to dissect and examine how the challenges and opportunities for America's business sectors have been and can be addressed by independent industry self-regulation.
In the Incubator
TeenAge Privacy Program (TAPP)
The TAPP Incubator project has brought together a diverse set of industry stakeholders to help solve the challenges of data privacy for teenagers. Participating businesses are designing safeguards for the personal data of this unique group of consumers, building a bridge between privacy protections for children and adults that can serve as a global model. These trailblazers are not waiting for the problem to worsen, they are leading change.
The TAPP Roadmap is a new operational framework designed to help companies develop digital products and services that consider and respond to the heightened potential of risks and harms to teenage consumers and to ensure that businesses collect and manage teen data responsibly.
AI in Hiring & Recruiting
In the recruiting and hiring process, where algorithms increasingly provide an aid to human decision making, how can we combine important technological innovation with a proactive approach to employment law regulations and future-proof standards?
The Principles and Protocols for Trustworthy AI in Recruiting and Hiring serve as a global baseline standard and framework for the use of AI applications in recruitment and hiring, providing practical and actionable guidance for employers and vendors seeking to leverage AI technology responsibly and equitably.
Emerging Areas of Interest
Among myriad other challenges that could be approached through the lens of the Self-Regulation Incubator, the areas listed below appear ripe for possible future convenings. If you would like to be involved in these or other Incubator initiatives, use the Contact Us form below.
Connected Vehicles
As cars become smarter and more interconnected, do the rules of the road need to change? How do we anticipate the new normal of safety, security and data protection, while ensuring that businesses remain on a level playing field and consumers are heard?
The Self-Regulation Incubator can help.
The Metaverse
The rules of the road for the metaverse, which is being hailed as the next big technological revolution, are still being written. How can we ensure consumers are protected while encouraging innovation as businesses explore this next digital frontier?
The Self-Regulation Incubator can help.
Investing in Business Accountability
As economic and technological innovations accelerate, businesses must continue to work together to enhance consumer trust in a dynamic marketplace.
At the Center for Industry Self-Regulation, we believe that independent research and education is critical to incubating the solutions that will help us solve industry challenges and protect consumers. Your contribution helps make this important work possible.
The Center for Industry Self-Regulation is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization.
News
Howard Smith Named Executive Director of the Center for Industry Self-Regulation
McLean, VA – December 11, 2024 – Eric D. Reicin, CEO of BBB National Programs today announced that Howard Smith has been named Executive Director of BBB National Programs’ 501(c)(3) Charitable Foundation, the Center for Industry Self-Regulation (CISR) and Vice President, BBB National Programs.
John Templeton Foundation Grant Awarded to Center for Industry Self-Regulation to Develop Industry Self-Regulation Curriculum for Law, Business & Public Policy Schools
McLean, VA – September 10, 2024 - BBB National Programs’ Center for Industry Self-Regulation today announced that it will develop a curriculum on industry self-regulation for law, business, and public policy school programs, filling a significant gap in current...
BBB National Programs’ Center for Industry Self-Regulation Publishes Principles and Protocols for Trustworthy AI in Recruiting and Hiring
McLean, VA – June 8, 2023 – The Center for Industry Self-Regulation released self-regulatory Principles for Trustworthy AI in Recruiting and Hiring, as a global baseline standard for the use of AI applications in recruitment and hiring, and
To Help U.S. Companies Responsibly Collect and Manage Teenager Data, Center for Industry Self-Regulation Publishes TeenAge Privacy Program Roadmap
Thought Leadership
Soft Law Summit Recap: Industry Self-Regulation Fills the Regulatory Gap
World Standards Day: Celebrating Voluntary Industry Standards
The Demise of “Chevron Deference”: Who Will Fill the Regulatory Gaps?
Soft Law in 2024: Activating Industry Self-Regulation
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