DIGITAL SMES VOICE CONCERNS ABOUT PROPOSED DATA PROTECTION REGULATION.

The forthcoming data protection Regulation is the most significant set of regulations that will impact on all business in Europe to date.  As the legislation is in the form of a Regulation it becomes law automatically in every EU member state. Once the regulation is passed at EU level there is no possibility for a member state to make changes to the Regulation.   It is therefore essential that the regulation is a workable and thought-through piece of legislation.

IAB Ireland held a media briefing on Friday June 14^th to inform the media about Irish SME’s concerns on aspects of the proposed Data Protection Regulation.

The legal basis that permits a company to process data lawfully is a key issue of concern in the Regulation. Many digital companies rely on user consent to process data. Under the draft Regulation the requirement for consent has changed to explicit consent for processing most types of data.

The proposed reform will place enormous additional burdens on SME companies and on startups, as it means for first party companies that their potential user base will be significantly reduced as users could potentially be obliged to register, rather than serendipitously discover a website. Further, pushing users through a registration process will mean that far more personal data is gathered, which is completely contrary to the spirit of the data protection regulation.

Speaking in relation to third party companies, John Patten, Director of Digitize said, “It will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to gather explicit consent on the websites on which adnetworks or site analytics companies operate as these companies do not have a direct relationship with the users from whom they would need to obtain explicit consent”.

The draft Regulation also includes a major extension of what is defined as “personal data” to include non-personally identifiable data including un-linked IP addresses (not associated with registration data) and cookies.

Eamonn Fallon CEO of Distilled Media said, “I would hate to see large parts of the web disappear behind login walls. This would be a terrible experience for users and may be an unfortunate side effect of the proposed Regulation. In broadening the definition of personal data to cover data such as IP addresses and cookies the only way companies like ours can legally run web analytics and third party adservers would be to force all our users to login”

Justin Cullen, MD of Radical and Director of Core Media spoke in relation to the needs of his clients across the business spectrum to process data for day-to-day operational needs and future planning. “The concept of pseudonymous data and a different set of legal obligations for this type of data must be incorporated in the Regulation for companies to be able to conduct their business and planning going forward”.

Seán Kelly, Member of the European Parliament and Rapporteur on the data protection dossier provided an overview of the amendments he has tabled providing for a balanced Regulation both for users and industry.  “We are working hard at an EU level to ensure that the Regulation balances strong protection for consumer rights with the opportunity to facilitate SMEs in Ireland and across Europe to prosper in the digital economy“.

Suzanne McElligott, CEO of IAB Ireland thanked the media for attending the briefing.  “IAB and its members are committed to ensuring the creation of an effective Regulation of our digital sector. The purpose of our briefing today is to focus on the impact of key aspects of the proposed data protection law, which will also have an adverse affect on users’ privacy. IAB recommendations in respect of amendments to the Regulation propose a solution that ensures digital businesses can scale, innovate and grow the Irish and European economy while also providing protection of personal data of users.”

Ends

For further information please contact:

Suzanne McElligott, CEO, IAB Ireland, 086 2260403.   Suzanne@iabireland.ie

Notes to Editors

About IAB Ireland

IAB Ireland is the trade association for the Irish online advertising industry. As a not for profit organisation IAB Ireland works with members to ensure marketers can identify the best role for online in building their brands. IAB Ireland is a member of both IAB Europe and IAB US. The IAB network shares three core objectives, namely to prove, promote and protect the online advertising industry. These objectives are fulfilled through the dissemination of authoritative research, the organisation of educational events and by promoting industry-wide best practice.

IAB IRELAND LAUNCHES AD CAMPAIGN IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE EDAA TO EDUCATE AND EMPOWER CONSUMERS ABOUT TARGETED ONLINE ADVERTISING

• Ad campaign is designed to drive consumer awareness, provide information and enable consumer choice.

• Ireland among first countries in wider pan-European roll out

IAB Ireland launched today a consumer-focused awareness campaign, developed and funded by the European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance (EDAA), designed to increase consumer awareness, understanding and empowerment regarding online ‘interest-based advertising’ otherwise known as ‘Online Behavioural Advertising’ (OBA).

The ad campaign, designed in partnership with Mediacom’s Beyond Advertising division,

features various creative concepts including a zip, which opens to reveal the blue triangular ‘AdChoices’ icon that has accompanied behavioural ads in Ireland and across the EU for over a year.

On clicking the ads, users are taken to a landing page explaining the role of online advertising and how privacy can be protected. Consumers may also watch a video, which provides a user-friendly description of ‘interest-based advertising’ OBA Consumer Awareness Campaign landing page.  Subsequently, users can also click through to a broader website (www.youronlinechoices.ie).

Given its pan-European nature, the campaign is a ground-breaking initiative for the online advertising ecosystem. The first phase of the campaign commences in June across Ireland, the UK and Germany.  Other EU countries will join the schedule in the Autumn.

Jon Chase (Chairman of EACA’s European Media Agencies Council and CEO of Velvet Rock Communications) who helped to develop and coordinate this European campaign on behalf of all stake-holders involved, remarked ‘The launch is the result of a huge effort from all sectors of the European online advertising ecosystem, involving representative associations at both EU and national level, as well as the direct involvement of digital media companies providing substantial amounts of advertising inventory to ensure the campaign reaches a significant audience across Europe.’

The ‘AdChoices’ icon is an integral part of the pan-European OBA self-regulatory initiative supported by the European Commission, IAB Europe, EASA, EACA and various other organisations acting on behalf of the advertising industry.  The OBA framework provides consumers with increased transparency and control in respect of targeted online ads.  On clicking the icon, users visit the Your Online Choices (YOC) website and receive detailed information on how data is collected and used to serve these ads and ways users can control OBA.

Interest-based advertising is not based on any personal information which identifies a user rather, it is based upon the sites previously visited by the user.

The online ad campaign will initially run from Monday June 24^th for eight to ten weeks. IAB Ireland’s members across news, media owners, and classified sites, as well as advertising technology businesses have donated inventory in support of the campaign.*

ASAI, as a member of EASA, has announced today that from September 1st, in accordance with the terms of the EASA Best Practice Recommendations on OBA, it will take on the role of handling complaints from consumers in respect of online behavioural advertising.  ASAI’s role in complaint handling will provide consumers with further recourse in relation to any OBA complaints: ASAI OBA Rules.

Suzanne McElligott, CEO of IAB Ireland said ‘We are delighted that the Irish market is one of the front runners in driving consumer awareness and understanding of online behavioural advertising.  This reflects the real commitment of IAB Ireland and its members to strong self-regulation.  It is indeed timely that ASAI are also today announcing their role in relation to OBA complaint handling.’

‘The EDAA’s consumer-focused awareness campaign will help users understand how online advertising works while enabling users to make choices in relation to OBA’, Suzanne concluded.

Ends

For further information please contact:

Maeve O’Meara, Marketing Manager IAB Ireland, 086 8522291, Maeve@iabireland.ie

Notes for Editors:

The following companies are supporting the OBA campaign:  AOL, Adtech, Boards.ie, Daft.ie, Donedeal.ie, Independent Digital, The Irish Times, TheJournal.ie, Microsoft, Sky Media, TV3 and Yahoo!

Velvet Rock Communications is coordinating the campaign on behalf of the European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance (EDAA), the body administering key aspects of the European Self Regulatory Programme on OBA.

Campaign Artwork:

Landing page: www.youronlinechoices.com/ie/ads-the-internet-the-icon-revealed

ABOUT IAB IRELAND

IAB Ireland is the trade association for the Irish online advertising industry. As a not for profit organisation IAB Ireland works with members to ensure marketers can identify the best role for online in building their brands. IAB Ireland is a member of both IAB Europe and IAB US. The IAB network shares three core objectives, namely to prove, promote and protect the online advertising industry. These objectives are fulfilled through the dissemination of authoritative research, the organisation of educational events and by promoting industry-wide best practice.

ABOUT EDAA

The European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance is a non-profit organisation based in Brussels and is responsible for enacting key aspects of the self-regulatory initiative for Online Behavioural Advertising (OBA) across Europe. EDAA principally acts as the central licensing body for the OBA Icon and provides technical means for consumers to exercise transparency and control over OBA through the youronlinechoices.eu online consumer choice platform. EDAA is governed by EU-level organisations which make up the value chain of OBA within Europe and acts to ensure European consistency in approach.

More information can be found at www.edaa.eu.

ABOUT ASAI

The Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland (ASAI) is the self-regulatory body set up by the advertising industry, including advertisers, agencies and media companies, to promote the highest standards of commercial advertising and to enforce the ASAI’s Code, full details of which are available on ASAI’s website – www.asai.ie.

OBA EDUCATION ACROSS EUROPE

Primarily, the education campaign will drive awareness of the OBA icon, licensed by the EDAA and placed on online ads, to ensure consumers associate it with meaningful transparency, choice and control over online behavioural advertising.

The OBA icon is a means for consumers to identify where OBA is being practiced in a clear and contextual manner. The icon links consumers to a pan-European consumer choice platform at www.youronlinechoices.eu, which aims to inform and provide choice and control. The website has been revamped alongside the launch of the campaign.

Through the Programme, consumers will better understand online advertising, as well as the means that are available to them if they wish to file complaints. Credible consumer complaint handling mechanisms in each national market will be handled by well-established and recognised national advertising self-regulatory organisations (SROs).

The “Unzipped” campaign has been designed by Mediacom Beyond Advertising and was based around a concept initially developed by a team of students from KH Leuven in Belgium (finalists in the 2012 Ad Venture student competition run by the European Association of Communications Agencies (EACA)).

ABOUT THE EUROPEAN PRINCIPLES FOR ONLINE BEHAVIOURAL ADVERTISING (OBA)

The Self Regulatory Principles for Online Behavioural Advertising have been developed through a cross-industry effort at European level, with EASA’s (European Advertising Standards Alliance) Best Practice Recommendation on OBA building on the IAB Europe (Interactive Advertising Bureau Europe) OBA Framework.

An essential role regarding compliance with these Principles is played by the national Self-Regulatory Organisations (SROs) and IABs. Companies should be aware of the national SROs where they operate. More information, including contact details of SROs can be found on EASA’s website: www.easa-alliance.org.