Responsible advertising in the age of data privacy

Online advertising continues to be the most dominant, with over 4-10k impressions given to the average citizen per day. Global spending on digital advertising now outpaces traditional media for the first time. However, retailers and social media platforms suffer from trust deficits compared to other sectors, including financial providers and government.

Moreover, data collection and tracking used in the digital advertising space is subject to increased regulation. The GDPR, Brazilian LGPD, and other global privacy legislation introduce obligations for consent and transparency for user data, including data collected online. They also bring new rights in relation to profiling and automated decisions that advertisers will have to comply with.

In particular, we have seen instances where user trust has been broken recent times, with opposition to political advertising on social media, and individuals being provided with suggested content based on data inferred from them.

Companies engaging in digital advertising, ranging from devices to social media, will have to ensure privacy and trust are at the forefront of their values. This will involve engaging with users around their practices, and connecting more with their direct customers and using ‘first party data’ as opposed to using tracking technologies such as third-party cookies. As online advertising continues to spread to new technologies and data streams, they will also have to prepare to navigate potential regulatory hurdles, whilst taking advantage of the reputational benefits that data ethics and transparency can bring.