Commenting on the Belgian Data Protection Authority (DPA) ruling re. Transparency & Consent Framework (TCF), Zack Sullivan, Chief Revenue Officer, said:
“The ruling is an industry wide matter, and one which Future is well positioned to respond to. As premium-publisher, Future’s scale, and specialist intent-based content lends itself to a closer relationship with its audiences and we therefore anticipate being a net beneficiary of any resultant changes. Future has employed several iterations of the TCF already and we are committed to maintaining user privacy within an industry framework.”
Supplementary information:
What is the TCF?
The TCF gives the publishing and advertising industries a common language with which to communicate consumer consent for the delivery of relevant online advertising and content using data collected on those users. It is overseen by the Interactive Advertising Bureau Europe (IAB Europe), the advertising industry body.
What has the Belgian DPA ruled?
The Belgian DPA’s ruling claims that the TCF “in its current set-up does not comply with the obligations arising from the transparency principle, notably Articles 12, 13 and 14 GDPR.” In summary, the ruling makes the case that the current industry framework for messaging to users asking for their consent does not make it clear enough what they are giving permission for and to whom.
What happens next?
The IAB has 6 months to make the framework compliant and has already said it is working with the relevant regulators to amend it. Until there is feedback from this, the full extent of any changes required will not be known.