On Friday, May 25th, the General Data Protection legislation (GDPR) will go into effect for all countries in the European Economic Area (EEA). The GDPR unifies consumer data privacy regulation across the EEA and sets strict standards surrounding the use and disclosure of personal data for all EEA subjects. We’ve been watching the situation carefully to ensure we’re fully prepared to address the needs of our partners as well as consumers.
The GDPR promises to have a sweeping impact on the digital advertising industry. Most notably, this new regulation: broadens the definition of PII to include cookies and IP addresses, requires explicit consent from users to collect this information, and mandates full access and transparency for EEA citizens with regard to what data has been collected.
33Across and the GDPR
The GDPR is a complex piece of legislation with regard to both interpretation and compliance. The IAB Europe has made tremendous progress in leading a broad industry effort to establish a standard consent management framework. We are proud to be an active participant in that initiative, and to have earned a place on the IAB’s Transparency and Consent Framework Global Vendor List.
As an industry, however, we still have more work to do in finalizing these standards and ensuring that consent is shared consistently across vendors. Additionally, legal interpretation of key aspects of the GDPR remains unclear and under debate.
Given the large degree of uncertainty surrounding the correct interpretation and implementation of the GDPR, we have decided to adopt an extremely conservative approach with regard to user privacy. Beginning May 25th, 2018, 33Across will cease to pass, transact on, and collect all user data considered to be personal data under the GDPR coming from EEA countries. This policy is unconditional and applies to all areas of the 33Across technology.
Looking Ahead
33Across remains invested in the EEA and will continue to partner with both publishers and advertisers in the region. We believe that some of our key strengths, including innovative high-impact placements and quality viewable inventory will continue to drive significant value after May 25th.
Additionally, we will remain engaged with the IAB and our partners as we evaluate consent management options. Because 33Across is on the IAB’s global vendor list, publishers who have already implemented their own consent management solution can simply add us within their CMPs. You can read more regarding our stance on GDPR on our Privacy Policy page.
