Americans who work outside the ad tech space may or may not know what GDPR is, but since the Cambridge Analytica scandal broke in 2017, they’re acutely aware of how vulnerable their personal data can be. The recent new headlines about FaceApp make it clear that Americans are becoming increasingly concerned about how their personal data is being collected and used online, and increasingly skeptical about what they’re getting in return.
Since much of the privacy debate centers on digital content and advertising, those of us who work in the space need to be duly concerned about the consumers who interact with the content we serve or publish. We are the ones collecting and handling their data, and not only must we respect and adhere to the regulations around its usage, we must make sure our clients, partners, and consumers understand how we’re using their data.
With the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) on the horizon, American businesses need to start thinking harder about how they are going to protect consumers. For many organizations, this may mean taking a close look at their data collection, storage and usage practices. The net-net of these regulations is that while data is the fuel that powers our industry, we can never forget that it is personal information that belongs to actual human beings, and we are responsible for safeguarding their privacy and rights. It’s not a responsibility that every company will be up to: we saw many American businesses withdraw from the EU when GDPR was enacted.
A Respect for Data Privacy Above and Beyond GDPR and CCPA
At Blis, we’ve always understood the importance of data privacy, and we’ve always been committed to delivering the cleanest, most precise and most accurate data on the market. If you’re a Blis client or partner already, you know our Smart Pin technology is the first line of defense to ensure our platform remains free of any bad data by using a multi-stage filtration process to detect and eliminate fraudulent data.
We exclusively process and store inbound data under the appropriate legal basis and in accordance to the guidelines set out by the GDPR and existing ePrivacy Directive. Additionally, we work with the IAB consent framework which aims to help parties within the digital advertising chain to ensure they comply with GDPR when processing personal data or accessing non-personal data on consumer devices. The IAB Consent framework provides:
- Control over the vendors enabled by publishers.
- Transparency into the supply chain for consumers & publishers.
- An auditable consent trail that gives all supply chain members confidence.
- A better user experience than if every publisher were to try to solve the challenge on their own.
We’re also proud to be certified by various consumer privacy regulatory bodies including AdChoices and TrustArc, among others.
Industry-disrupting transparency via Blockchain
In the months ahead, Blis will offering a new level of transparency that is unprecedented in the industry. We’re rolling out a new Blockchain technology in partnership with IBM that allows advertisers to unlock the “black box” of data transparency – giving access to accurate and detailed mobile data provenance. Through this immutable ledger, we’ll audit how we collect data, where it comes from and where it goes, offering end-to-end transparency and leaving a clear trail that all our clients can review.
Ultimately, it’s important for all of us to remember that data is more than currency – it’s personal information about the consumers whom we’d like to have as our lifelong customers. While we need high-quality data to activate the campaigns that propel our businesses forward, we must protect our customers along the way. These goals aren’t mutually exclusive. In fact, they bolster each other: Keeping customer data safe is an important part of gaining and keeping their trust.
