by George Slefo // December 6, 2017
If the four-letter acronym “GDPR” isn’t on your radar yet, then now might be a good time to start panicking. For some, current uncertainty around its implementation is the least of their worries.
Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation, which goes into effect May 25, will require publishers to obtain explicit consent for the ways they use consumers’ data. It covers not only companies based in Europe but any publisher or vendor that does business there. And its requirements might not be satisfied by the sort of little-read “check this box” user agreements that are commonplace today, at least according to several executives who are following the situation closely.
Instead, readers will likely be greeted with an overlay stating that the publisher uses data to keep content free — and listing every company the publisher works with to gather that data.
Such lists can easily include hundreds of names. Soliciting consent for each company one by one isn’t practical, but it may very well be necessary.
Even if publishers are allowed to gather one blanket sign-off from consumers, displaying a lengthy list of companies gathering visitors’ data may lead to higher bounce rates, especially on small mobile screens…