Meeting with the European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance (EDAA)
Ref. Ares(2018)340985 - 19/01/2018
Brussels, 23 November 2016
Steering brief
Scene setter
You will meet the European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance (EDAA). They want
Reason for
redaction:
to emphasise the benefits of the Online Behavioural Advertising (OBA) self-regulatory
protection of
initiative
encouraged this initiative.
personal data, in
accordance with EDAA might want to convince you that an opt-out regime to tracking provides a
Regulation (EC) sufficient protection for internet users and that therefore the current "cookie" consent
45/2001.
rule in the ePrivacy Directive (Article5.3) based on opt-in should be repealed.
EDAA is the secretary bureau of OBA whose members include publishers and
advertising associations (e.g. EMMA – magazine publishers, ENPA – newspaper
publishers, FEDMA – direct marketing, IAB – interactive advertising). OBA was started
in 2011. It is currently supported by 165 associated companies. It is based on 7
principles. The most important are transparency around personalised advertisement
and user choice. The initiative provides the possibility for citizens to opt-out of being
tracked online through a website: An icon is displayed next to an ad. The user can click
on this icon for more information about tracking. The user is then redirected to
www.youronlinechoices.eu. However, this is not the webpage where the user can opt-
out directly. It can be complex for some users to identify the purpose of this webpage
and how to opt-out. EDAA argues that this initiative reached millions of citizens and
therefore is successful.
The Article 29 Working Party strongly questions the compliance of this initiative with the
prior consent rule in the ePrivacy Directive.
The ePrivacy Directive requires consent to access or store information in users'
devices. It applies to online websites. Publishers and the advertisement industry are in
favour of giving consumers more choice online but through self-regulation. In their
view, the cookie rule (opt-in) does not work and stifles their business model of OBA
activities based on tracking citizens online in order to deliver targeted advertising. They
prefer opt-out. They are against introducing an option where users can chose not to
"pay" with their data, but only with money.
EDAA are concerned that many users install Do-Not-Track (DNT) software on their
devices, while the same users consent to being tracked by big US companies. These
companies establish a relationship with users via login systems and thus obtain a
"derogation" to DNT-software from their users. This business model can be used by all
players, European and non-European. EDAA argues that the use of DNT software by
European users puts the big US players in a more dominant position compared to
European players.
As regard direct marketing/unsolicited communications, some OBA members (e.g.
publishers) support an opt-out regime for voice-to-voice direct marketing calls (other
than through automated calling machines), or maintain the status quo (currently it is up
to MS to choose between an opt-in or opt-out regime). They argue that direct marketing
is a way to obtain new subscribers to their services (typically for the press and media).
Steering brief
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