By Lou Mastria
Big idea: The AdChoices program and DAA Principles are hard at work in 37 nations – and 28 languages. At the Digital Advertising Alliance Summit 24, some of our global network partners discussed current program priorities in their respective regions.
Big idea, cont: As the digital advertising landscape continues to evolve, different regions are adopting various measures to ensure compliance with data protection and advertising standards, where the DAA Principles still apply.
Mathilde Fiquet, special advisor at European Publishers Council (EPC), and account director; with panelists Vatsal Asher, convener, Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) Asia and Middle East; Shelley Samel, chief legal officer at Ad Standards Canada; and (not pictured) Mary Teahan, president and CEO of Qendar (also representing DMA Argentina), discuss the DAA program around the globe.
In a Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) Summit 24 panel titled, “It’s an AdChoices World: A Report from Canada, LATAM, India and Europe -- DAA Global Network Partners,” panelists shared the priorities for the interest-based advertising ecosystems in their respective home territories for the year ahead. The panel was led by Mathilde Fiquet, special advisor at EPC, which is part of the governing associations of the European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance (EDAA); with panelists Vatsal Asher, convener, DAA Asia and Middle East; Shelley Samel, chief legal officer at Advertising Standards Canada (Ad Standards); and Mary Teahan, president and CEO of Qendar of Argentina and a member of DMA Argentina which helped found Alianza de Publicidad Digital de Argentina.
Despite regional differences in laws and approaches, a common challenge persists: providing companies and their consumers with transparency and choice regarding interest-based advertising (IBA)/targeted advertising – whether on a self-regulatory or co-regulatory basis.
Strengthening Trust and Combating Misleading Claims
India recently passed the Digital Personal Data Protection Act in 2022, though it is not yet in force, thus giving businesses time to prepare, DAAA’s Vatsal Asher reported. Importantly, adherence to DAA Principles appear to dovetail with the new regulation, he said.
“The Indian government has also introduced a court-mandated requirement for all advertisers to self-certify their advertisements,” Asher said, “…whether digital, print, or radio, to address the issue of misleading claims, particularly in the healthcare sector.” This was prompted by a landmark judgment against one of India’s largest consumer goods companies for making false claims about their products within their advertising content.
Vatsal Asher, Convener, DAA Asia and Middle East
“[The company] made misleading claims to say that their products could be substituted for medicine,” he said. “Millions of people have been impacted by that and the company has had to pay a serious amount of penalties and issue apologies in newspapers. And the domino effect of that, of course, is that consumer trust has been eroded in a big way.”
DAA Asia is forming a Governing Board and Program Council to guide local implementation of the DAA Principles – and their independent enforcement – within India, as a complement to India’s federal law.
Rigorous Compliance through Ad Standards
In Canada, Ad Standards serves as the accountability entity for the Digital Advertising Alliance of Canada (DAAC), conducting annual audits to ensure participant companies adhere to established DAAC Principles, ensuring transparency and ethical practices within the advertising sector. Shelley Samel summarized the introduction of a self-attestation form to assess aspects of compliance that cannot be directly audited, such as their internal processes and education efforts around the Principles.
“So from an enforcement perspective, starting in 2023, each participant fills out a detailed seven-page form covering principles [and practices] that can’t be audited directly,” Samel said.
Shelley Samel, Chief Legal Officer at Ad Standards - Canada
Canada is on the cusp of significant privacy law reform with the impending replacement of its existing omnibus privacy law. The new legislation, currently in its early stages of development, aims to address contemporary challenges in data protection and privacy – as a result of such innovations of artificial intelligence, among others -- to ensure robust protections for consumer data. Much as DAAC adherence does today, it is expected that the AdChoices program will continue to be relied upon to address the specifics of the targeted advertising market in whatever comes down the line.
Navigating Data Protection Concerns in LATAM – A Balanced Approach
Argentina recently had its data protection adequacy status renewed by the European Union in 2022, signifying its commitment to GDPR. Such determinations by the EU allow personally identifiable information of citizens to flow smoothly between the EU and Argentina. One policy challenge is grappling with high inflation – and any possible fines that are set that may affect businesses that violate existing law and global data transfer protocols.
Mary Teahan, President and CEO of Qendar,
and Honorary President, Data & Marketing Association Argentina
Mary Teahan shared insights into Argentina’s regulatory approach – which seeks to balance interests of trading partners. “This is part of the reason why we launched APDA. Argentina tends to look to Europe for leadership, while respecting developments in the United States. Artificial intelligence is on our list, and our data commissioner has counsel for considering these themes. Tomorrow in Argentina, our DMA [data marketing association] …which I represent, will be at a major conference talking about artificial intelligence and marketing,” she said.
Other Latin American countries, such as Colombia, are also working on updating their data protection laws, with Chile recently passing new legislation. However, progress has been slow, necessitating efforts to align these regulations with global standards and address evolving data privacy challenges. Thus far, the DAA Principles as a national construct have been implemented in Argentina and could be a basis for more Latin American nations looking to provide consumers with transparency and control while allowing advertising innovation to flourish.
Adapting to New Digital Legislation and Regulation in Europe
Europe is on the brink of significant changes with the recently adopted Digital Services Act (DSA) and Digital Markets Act (DMA). These legislative changes are set to affect the advertising industry by introducing stricter regulations and enhancing accountability measures. The recent European Parliament elections, which resulted in a more fragmented political landscape, may influence future advertising policies and their implementation further.
The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) is also examining issues related to consent-or-payment models for online services, focusing on ensuring valid consent of consumers. “Consent or pay” is where consumers are prompted to either consent to enabling data collection and use for advertising in return for free or reduced-cost access to content and services, or they do not provide consent and instead pay a fee to access that same set of content or services. “We do have a few member states in Europe where the data protection authority [DPA] at a national level [have] issued some guidelines that recognize the possibility to have a consent-or-pay model under certain conditions. DPAs are now looking at whether consent in such can be viable and lawful under GDPR [General Data Protection Regulation].” EPC’s Mathilde Fiquet said.
Mathilde Fiquet, Special Advisor at EPC, and Account Director & Head of Office, Europe Analytica
As global advertising standards evolve, regions like Canada, Latin America, and Europe are taking diverse approaches. In all these regions, however, DAA Principles apply and there’s room for self-regulation and co-regulation. Understanding these regional developments and their implications helps businesses navigate the complex landscape of digital advertising and data protection.
DAA wishes to thanks our summer associate Ellana Robinson for her editorial support with this post.
