• Meta’s new digs: A deep dive into practical considerations of consent
• The half-baked future of cookies and other tracking technologies
• Legal basis and consequences for personalized advertising
• Data clean rooms: An adtech privacy solution?
• In an AI-powered world, marketers need a new data strategy
• Empowering users: A universal interface for digital ad preferences

• AdTech 2023: A Look Back

January

● REGULATORY

France's data protection authority, the Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés, fined Yahoo EMEA 10 million euros for alleged violations of the ePrivacy Directive, after it found visitors to the site had cookies placed on their computers without their consent.

● REGULATORY

Spain's data protection authority, the Agencia Española de Protección de Datos, released its newest guidelines for how to treat analytics and cookies.

February

● REGULATORY

Bavaria's State Office for Data Protection Supervision reported about one-third of the 1,000 websites it examined had cookie banners that did not meet legal standards.

● REGULATORY

The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority ordered Google to pause its efforts to eliminate third-party cookies until multiple competition-related concerns are addressed.

March

● REGULATORY

The U.K. Information Commissioner's Office opened a call for views from businesses and digital advertising stakeholders on how pay-or-consent subscription models can achieve third-party cookie compliance.

April

● REGULATORY

The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority published its 2024 first quarter report on Google's efforts to implement the Privacy Sandbox. The report stated Google met all commitments made to the CMA, although further progress was needed to resolve its competition concerns.

May

● REGULATORY

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit dismissed a class-action lawsuit against Amazon, which claimed its Alexa served targeted ads to users based on their voices.

June

● REGULATORY

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission finalized its order preventing the antivirus company Avast from selling or licensing web browsing data for advertising purposes. The company was fined USD16.5 million over misleading claims that it blocked third-party tracking.

July

● REGULATORY

A report by Denmark's Agency for Digitalisation, the Digitaliseringsstyrelsen, revealed 42.2% of websites use unclassified cookies.

● REGULATORY

The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority accepted Meta's proposals for handling advertisers' data. Meta previously committed to limiting use of customers' data to prevent it from securing an "unfair advantage."

August

● REGULATORY

Belgium's Data Protection Authority issued a preliminary sanction against Dutch media company Mediahuis for alleged unlawful cookie banners and deceptive design patterns.

● REGULATORY

Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., vetoed a bill that would have required web browsers to have an opt-out mechanism for online behavioral advertising, following industry group advocacy.

September

● REGULATORY

Belgium's Data Protection Authority issued a preliminary sanction against Dutch media company Mediahuis for alleged unlawful cookie banners and deceptive design patterns.

● REGULATORY

Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., vetoed a bill that would have required web browsers to have an opt-out mechanism for online behavioral advertising, following industry group advocacy.

October

● REGULATORY

The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled in favor of NOYB Chairman Max Schrems in his civil complaint against Meta, finding the company violated the EU GDPR's data minimization principle when it processed statements regarding sexual orientation without consent for targeted advertising purposes, even if such statements had been made public.

● REGULATORY

Ireland's Data Protection Commission fined LinkedIn 310 million euros for allegedly conducting behavioral analysis and targeted advertising in violation of the U.K. GDPR.

November

● REGULATORY

South Korea's Personal Information Protection Commission issued Meta a KRW21.6232 billion fine, claiming it had violated the Personal Information Protection Act by collecting Facebook users' sensitive personal information for ad-targeting purposes.

● REGULATORY

The European Commission fined Meta 798 million euros for embedding Facebook Marketplace within its social network, causing alternative classified ads services to face "unfair trading conditions."

● REGULATORY

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner issued private sector guidance for deploying tracking pixels on websites.

December

● REGULATORY

The European Commission issued a request for information to Google following a report by the Financial Times of a "secret" advertising partnership with Meta that allegedly violated Google's policies for online advertisements targeted at minors. The Commission reportedly asked lawyers at Google parent company Alphabet to "review and collate data, presentations, internal chats and emails related to the ad campaigns" that served teens personalized ads for Instagram on YouTube.

● REGULATORY

South Africa's Information Regulator published guidance assisting responsible parties with compliance to provisions of the Protection of Personal Information Act of 2013 when processing personal data. The guidance applies to entities engaging in direct marketing through unsolicited electronic and nonelectronic communications.

January

● INDUSTRY

Privacy advocacy group NOYB asked Austria's Data Protection Authority to investigate Meta's free product option, claiming it is too difficult to withdraw consent unless a user wants the paid subscription service.

February

● INDUSTRY

IAB Tech Lab published a report analyzing potential challenges faced by the advertising industry in adopting Google's Privacy Sandbox. Google responded, noting advertisers' concerns with the initiative.

March

● INDUSTRY

Microsoft announced it will incorporate the Google Privacy Sandbox application programming interface within its advertising products.

April

● INDUSTRY

Google pledged to destroy data collected from the incognito Chrome browsing option as part of its settlement of a 2020 privacy class-action lawsuit.

● INDUSTRY

A study found the majority of Australians prefer privacy over targeted advertising.

May

● INDUSTRY

Apple announced Web Eraser, an AI-based privacy feature that aims to allow users to block ads and other parts of websites they do not wish to view.

June

● INDUSTRY

LinkedIn removed its targeted advertising tool to comply with the EU Digital Services Act provisions prohibiting companies from using sensitive personal data for advertising purposes.

July

● INDUSTRY

Advertising technology companies continued to raise concerns that Google's Privacy Sandbox remains unprepared for launch.

● INDUSTRY

TikTok revised its advertising standards to limit the ability of advertisers to target users ages 13-17.

August

● INDUSTRY

NOYB filed a lawsuit against Hamburg's Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information over a ruling that allowed pay-or-consent cookie banners on a magazine's website.

October

● INDUSTRY

Google announced the implementation of an advertising data retention policy that limits access to data after 11 years, including information stored in Google's advertising services.

November

● INDUSTRY

Meta announced plans to roll out an alternative targeted advertising model for EU Facebook and Instagram users that does not require payment and will serve "less personalized ads."

December

● INDUSTRY

Meta announced plans to restrict advertisers' access to certain categories of user data on its platforms. The plans will limit their access to data by topic, which will include health and wellness, financial services, and politics. The move could limit advertisers' ability to target Meta users based on their online activity.

● REGULATORY

France's data protection authority, the Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés, fined Yahoo EMEA 10 million euros for alleged violations of the ePrivacy Directive, after it found visitors to the site had cookies placed on their computers without their consent.

● REGULATORY

Spain's data protection authority, the Agencia Española de Protección de Datos, released its newest guidelines for how to treat analytics and cookies.

● INDUSTRY

Privacy advocacy group NOYB asked Austria's Data Protection Authority to investigate Meta's free product option, claiming it is too difficult to withdraw consent unless a user wants the paid subscription service.

● REGULATORY

Bavaria's State Office for Data Protection Supervision reported about one-third of the 1,000 websites it examined had cookie banners that did not meet legal standards.

● REGULATORY

The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority ordered Google to pause its efforts to eliminate third-party cookies until multiple competition-related concerns are addressed.

● INDUSTRY

IAB Tech Lab published a report analyzing potential challenges faced by the advertising industry in adopting Google's Privacy Sandbox. Google responded, noting advertisers' concerns with the initiative.

● REGULATORY

The U.K. Information Commissioner's Office opened a call for views from businesses and digital advertising stakeholders on how pay-or-consent subscription models can achieve third-party cookie compliance.

● INDUSTRY

Microsoft announced it will incorporate the Google Privacy Sandbox application programming interface within its advertising products.

● REGULATORY

The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority published its 2024 first quarter report on Google's efforts to implement the Privacy Sandbox. The report stated Google met all commitments made to the CMA, although further progress was needed to resolve its competition concerns.

● INDUSTRY

Google pledged to destroy data collected from the incognito Chrome browsing option as part of its settlement of a 2020 privacy class-action lawsuit.

● INDUSTRY

A study found the majority of Australians prefer privacy over targeted advertising.

● REGULATORY

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit dismissed a class-action lawsuit against Amazon, which claimed its Alexa served targeted ads to users based on their voices.

● INDUSTRY

Apple announced Web Eraser, an AI-based privacy feature that aims to allow users to block ads and other parts of websites they do not wish to view.

● REGULATORY

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission finalized its order preventing the antivirus company Avast from selling or licensing web browsing data for advertising purposes. The company was fined USD16.5 million over misleading claims that it blocked third-party tracking.

● INDUSTRY

LinkedIn removed its targeted advertising tool to comply with the EU Digital Services Act provisions prohibiting companies from using sensitive personal data for advertising purposes.

● REGULATORY

The European Commission notified Meta of alleged Digital Markets Act violations related to the platform's pay-or-consent subscription model for targeted advertising.

● INDUSTRY

Advertising technology companies continued to raise concerns that Google's Privacy Sandbox remains unprepared for launch.

● INDUSTRY

TikTok revised its advertising standards to limit the ability of advertisers to target users ages 13-17.

● REGULATORY

A report by Denmark's Agency for Digitalisation, the Digitaliseringsstyrelsen, revealed 42.2% of websites use unclassified cookies.

● REGULATORY

The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority accepted Meta's proposals for handling advertisers' data. Meta previously committed to limiting use of customers' data to prevent it from securing an "unfair advantage."

● INDUSTRY

NOYB filed a lawsuit against Hamburg's Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information over a ruling that allowed pay-or-consent cookie banners on a magazine's website.

● REGULATORY

Belgium's Data Protection Authority issued a preliminary sanction against Dutch media company Mediahuis for alleged unlawful cookie banners and deceptive design patterns.

● REGULATORY

Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., vetoed a bill that would have required web browsers to have an opt-out mechanism for online behavioral advertising, following industry group advocacy.

● REGULATORY

The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled in favor of NOYB Chairman Max Schrems in his civil complaint against Meta, finding the company violated the EU GDPR's data minimization principle when it processed statements regarding sexual orientation without consent for targeted advertising purposes, even if such statements had been made public.

● REGULATORY

Ireland's Data Protection Commission fined LinkedIn 310 million euros for allegedly conducting behavioral analysis and targeted advertising in violation of the U.K. GDPR.

● INDUSTRY

Google announced the implementation of an advertising data retention policy that limits access to data after 11 years, including information stored in Google's advertising services.

● REGULATORY

South Korea's Personal Information Protection Commission issued Meta a KRW21.6232 billion fine, claiming it had violated the Personal Information Protection Act by collecting Facebook users' sensitive personal information for ad-targeting purposes.

● REGULATORY

The European Commission fined Meta 798 million euros for embedding Facebook Marketplace within its social network, causing alternative classified ads services to face "unfair trading conditions."

● REGULATORY

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner issued private sector guidance for deploying tracking pixels on websites.

● INDUSTRY

Meta announced plans to roll out an alternative targeted advertising model for EU Facebook and Instagram users that does not require payment and will serve "less personalized ads."

● REGULATORY

The European Commission issued a request for information to Google following a report by the Financial Times of a "secret" advertising partnership with Meta that allegedly violated Google's policies for online advertisements targeted at minors. The Commission reportedly asked lawyers at Google parent company Alphabet to "review and collate data, presentations, internal chats and emails related to the ad campaigns" that served teens personalized ads for Instagram on YouTube.

● REGULATORY

South Africa's Information Regulator published guidance assisting responsible parties with compliance to provisions of the Protection of Personal Information Act of 2013 when processing personal data. The guidance applies to entities engaging in direct marketing through unsolicited electronic and nonelectronic communications.

● INDUSTRY

Meta announced plans to restrict advertisers' access to certain categories of user data on its platforms. The plans will limit their access to data by topic, which will include health and wellness, financial services, and politics. The move could limit advertisers' ability to target Meta users based on their online activity.