The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is likely to have a significant impact on Targeted Advertising (TA) in Europe when it comes into effect on May 25 this year.
Speaking in a Q&A session following presentations on TA, Vincent Grivet, TDF, co-chair of DVB CM-A, said that while GDPR was unlikely to kill TA it was a serious factor to take into account. On the other hand, it may even facilitate it by creating a reliable framework. Meanwhile, Les Carter, VP and chief architect, Cadent Technologies, said that there are a lot of things to be taken into consideration including Article 17, or ‘the right to be forgotten’.
Grivet also made the point that securing authorisation to find out what programmes have been watched on TV sets in the last six months, for instance, could prove to be a “hidden goldmine” for TA.
Broadband TV News notes that GDPR will replace the Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC and clear up ambiguities in the latter. According to the EU, “it will apply to the processing of personal data by controllers and processors in the EU, regardless of whether the processing takes place in the EU or not. The GDPR will also apply to the processing of personal data of data subjects in the EU by a controller or processor not established in the EU, where the activities relate to: offering goods or services to EU citizens (irrespective of whether payment is required) and the monitoring of behaviour that takes place within the EU”.
Separately, when asked about the current ban on TA on France’s DTT network, Grivet said that he has good hopes that the law will be changed. A consultation started last year and some flexibility could be introduced.
