As we all know, Facebook is having some issues with privacy lately and protection processes are being planned. One of them is the GDPR compliance in Europe – to protect user information. What does this mean for online advertisers? Read on to find out!
What Is GDPR? GDPR – General Data Protection Regular is a regulation that requires companies to protect the personal data and privacy of residents of EU countries. It replaces an outdated data protection directive from 1995 and restricts the way businesses collect, store and export people ’s personal data. It promises to be the most profound user data protection program and it ensures that people will have the right to be their own data controllers.
How Does The GDPR Affect Facebook Ads? If you are an advertiser on Facebook, you know very well that there are custom audiences and the Facebook Pixel to use in order to target the right people. Well, this will be affected as of May 25th, 2018, because of the changes that will happen in how you collect data. Regardless if you are marketing to European audiences or not, you must be Facebook-compliant by that date. Facebook’s new privacy rules will affect businesses worldwide, even if you are based outside the EU and aren’t necessarily targeting European citizens. For instance, any data you collected for a custom audience (name, phone number, email, etc..) without the consent of the people to market them, must be deleted by May 25, 2018.
The GDPR and Google: Cookies & Remarketing Similarly, Google Analytics, Tag Manager, or the AdWords Remarketing code used to build valuable, specific audiences must also obtain consent from your target. Per Google, “Advertisers using AdWords will be required to obtain consent for the use of cookies where legally required, and for the collection, sharing, and use of personal data for personalized ads for users in the EEA (European Economic Area). This includes the use of remarketing tags and conversion tags. Where legally required advertisers must also clearly identify each party that may collect, receive, or use end-users’ personal data.” In other words, if you’re using a Google product to track your prospects’ preferences and interests in order to serve them personalized ads, they must approve first.
In a nutshell, consent from the public to use their data will be needed as of the 25th of May. It’s still a bit vague how those in the online marketing industry will be able to advertise and what that would mean for brands.
