Stephanie Hanson, Offering Manager at OneTrust PreferenceChoice shares her thoughts on the updated TCF 2.0 and the impact it has had on Publishers and Business. Stephanie will also be joining the Virtual Programmatic Day on 19th November, where she will join a panel of experts to discuss the TCF 2.0 in more detail - Register here!
TCF 2.0: Publishers, Advertisers, and Ad Tech Vendors
Recently, new industry updates have kept publishers, advertisers, and ad tech vendors on their toes. Industry leaders are preparing for the removal of third-party cookies, adjusting to iOS 14 masking the IDFA, and recently adopted the IAB Europe’s Transparency Consent Framework (TCF 2.0). The first version of TCF was developed in 2018 and was recently enhanced to give consumers more control over their personal data and provide publishers greater flexibility when integrating with ad tech partners.
TCF 2.0 comes at a time when personal data has never mattered more to consumers and on the other hand, to publishers and advertisers that are striving to deliver personalised experiences based on data gathered. The framework is one of a kind and leading the way to transform towards an ad landscape that puts privacy first. With over 500 IAB TCF certified ad tech vendors, including Google and Adobe, the industry is working together towards the new future of advertising with the respect of user consent.
“TCF v2.0 takes the standard to the next level with respect to consumer transparency and choice, publisher control over data processing for advertising and content personalisation, and cross-industry collaboration,” said Townsend Feehan, CEO IAB Europe. “We’ve spent the last year providing support and guidance to CMPs, publishers, and vendors, and are confident that we have a robust framework in place that can continue to evolve in light of European Court case law and regulatory enforcement.”
Implications for the Ad Tech Industry
The TCF was created to help companies that serve, measure, and manage digital ads comply with certain obligations of the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and ePrivacy Directive (ePD) when processing personal data or accessing and/or storing information on a user’s device. TCF 2.0 consists of technical specifications and policies that assist all companies in the digital advertising supply chain to meet transparency and user choice requirements.
TCF 2.0 provides ten specific purposes for the processing of personal data about which users must be informed and to which they must give their consent, including the storage of information on devices, ad targeting according to targeting criteria, personalised ads, measurement of ad and content performance, market research, and product development.
In addition, the new version allows the mapping of legitimate interest as a legal basis for the various uses. With the entry into force of TCF 2.0, users will be able to object to the collection of data on the legal basis of ‘legitimate interest’ for the relevant purposes.
Have No Fear – Opt-Ins Are Still High with TCF 2.0
The privacy, technology, and advertising worlds are all witnessing change to ultimately give consumers more transparency and control over their personal data. With the TCF 2.0, some publishers are concerned that adopting it will impact consent opt-ins and ultimately, ad revenue. However, this framework was created to help, not hurt all parties.
In fact, the majority of publishers leveraging our CMP have made the decision to adopt the TCF framework. Customers in the publishing industry who are live with our CMP that are also leveraging TCF 2.0 signals are seeing up to 85% opt-in rates.
How OneTrust PreferenceChoice Helps
Leading publishers and advertisers leverage OneTrust PreferenceChoice to build and deploy a tailored CMP, optimize consent rates while ensuring compliance with global regulations and frameworks, and engage with customers across web, mobile, OTT and offline channels.
For more information, contact OneTrust PreferenceChoice or request a demo today!
On 19th November, IAB Europe will be hosting The Virtual Programmatic Day (VPD), where we have a stellar lineup of speakers ready to discuss and debate the hottest topics in Programmatic Advertising.
Ahead of the event, we caught up with one of our speakers, Vincent Tessier, Brand and Agency Lead EMEA from MoPub, Twitter UK to get his thoughts on the future growth areas of programmatic advertising and why he thinks this is a must-attend event. Check out our Q&A below.
Firstly, thank you for supporting the Virtual Programmatic Day. Thanks to the help of our sponsors, we’ve been able to create a free event for all of the industry to join. You will be joining the first panel to discuss the European Programmatic Advertising Landscape, what are some of the big developments you’ve seen this year?
The panel will also be discussing the future growth areas of programmatic advertising. What do you predict for 2021?
I am personally very excited by the advent of header bidding in the mobile in-app landscape. This is such a fundamental change in the way advertisers can access premium app inventory.
It’s been a very different year for the industry with challenging circumstances for many, what’s been your biggest learning this year?
The rise of mobile gaming and brands noticing it.
What is your role at MoPub and what’s been your focus so far this year?
My role is to support Brand Advertisers and their media agencies on their programmatic activities with MoPub.
Outside of work (and before the lockdown) what do you most enjoy doing in your free time?
Spending more time with my kids, morning run and listening & making music!
Why should people attend The Virtual Programmatic Day?
Ad tech & programmatic is a very fast paced environment and there are a lot of changes, specifically this year with the cookie deprecation, iOS 14 changes, CTV, Gaming, IAB Tech Lab standards adoptions. It’s important to have a forum at the european level, to gather and share the latest developments.
IAB Europe has been informed by the Belgian data protection authority, the APD, that it has completed an investigation into IAB Europe’s privacy and data protection practices in connection with its role as Managing Organisation of the Transparency and Consent Framework (TCF). The APD’s report represents the preliminary views of the APD’s investigations unit and has no binding effect with regard to any breach of the law by IAB Europe.
While IAB Europe is currently assessing the APD’s report, we note that the findings point to a number of alleged compliance issues that stem solely from IAB Europe’s role as Managing Organisation of the Framework. We respectfully disagree with the APD's apparent interpretation of the law, pursuant to which IAB Europe is a data controller in the context of publishers' implementation of the TCF. If upheld, the APD’s interpretation would have a chilling effect on the development of open-source compliance standards that serve to support industry players and protect consumers.
The TCF is a voluntary standard whose purpose is precisely to assist companies from the digital advertising ecosystem in their compliance efforts with EU data protection law. It contains a minimal set of best practices seeking to ensure that when personal data is processed, users are provided with adequate transparency and choice. Its policies do not assist or seek to assist the processing of special categories of data. It does not intend to replace legal obligations nor enable practices prohibited under the law.
We find it regrettable that a standard whose requirements reflect an interpretation of the law that errs on the side of consumer protection and aligns with multiple DPA guidance materials across the EU (CNIL, DPC, ICO, etc.), should be the focus of an enforcement action, rather than an opportunity for a constructive, good-faith dialogue on how the TCF can be improved in ways that better align with the APD's vision and with consumer and industry needs.
Over the past three years we have had the chance to present the TCF to a number of European DPAs, whose feedback we reflected in important changes in the V2 of the Framework, rolled out earlier this year. We will be fully engaging with the APD over the coming months as its services conduct evaluations on the merits of the report. We will also continue to work with regulators and seek their guidance on how the TCF can promote compliance with both the GDPR and the ePrivacy Directive.
For more information, please contact:
Townsend Feehan, CEO, IAB Europe (feehan@iabeurope.eu)
Helen Mussard, Marketing & Industry Strategy Director, IAB Europe (mussard@iabeurope.eu)
