IAB Europe updates privacy guidelines

The tool offers support to help companies in the digital advertising industry, including publishers, technology vendors, agencies and advertisers, with their General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and ePrivacy Directive compliance.

It includes technical specifications and policy documents companies can use to operate under a legal basis for processing personal data. 

The updates follow a year-long review including feedback from the industry and meetings with European data protection authorities.

Under the new guidelines, consumers can exercise their ‘right to object’ to data being processed. They also have more control whether and how companies use certain features of data processing, for example, using precise geolocation, IAB Europe said.

Townsend Feehan, chief executive, IAB Europe said: "The original TCF was launched to help a complex industry value chain manage their obligations under new regulations, notably the GDPR. With the number of constituents involved and disparate regulatory interpretations across multiple jurisdictions, it was essential that the evolution of the framework was handled sensitively, with the final specifications able to be adopted in a manner consistent with differing business models in a wide range of operational markets."

The technical specifications for the tool are developed by members of the IAB Tech Lab, while a TCF Steering Group was responsible for the new policy documents.

Dennis Buchheim, executive vice-president and general manager, IAB Tech Lab, said: "The consumer is the principal focus of the TCF and the vision for version 2.0 was to provide clear explanations and choices to consumers regarding how their data may be used if consent is given, while providing greater control to publishers over how consent and other guidance is followed by their technology partners."