AdRoll’s Approach to GDPR

What is GDPR?

The General Data Protection Regulation (also known as “GDPR”) is a regulation that establishes new requirements on companies to give individuals residing in the European Union (EU)* more control over their personal data. Aiming to increase trust and accountability, GDPR increases the obligations on companies that collect, use, and share personal data from individuals residing in the EU to do so in more transparent and secure ways.

GDPR applies to any company that controls or processes personal data of individuals residing in the EU. There are serious penalties for companies that don’t comply, including fines of up to €20 million or 4% of a company’s global revenue, whichever is larger.

What has changed under GDPR?

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  • The definition of personal data has been broadened to include information that can be associated with an individual such as IP addresses and cookie identifiers
  • Transparency about the use of personal data is required to educate users and provide choice
  • Higher standards for establishing online consent, including for interest based advertising under the existing ePrivacy Directive
  • Expanded rights to the access, control and deletion of personal information

Why do I need consumer consent for marketing activities that fall under “legitimate interest” under GDPR?

Yes, marketing activities may fall under “legitimate interest” for lawful processing under the GDPR, HOWEVER, online marketing activities which involve tracking are ALSO subject to the existing ePrivacy Directive, which requires consent from the end user to place the cookie and track a user in the first place.

How does this affect my website?

  • GDPR increases the standards for consent under the existing ePrivacy Directive. This means partners working with AdRoll must obtain more robust consent from individuals in the EU before using cookies to provide interest-based advertising. Cookie consent tools help capture user consent when engaging with customers from the EU.
  • If your company is based in the EU, you will need a consent tool for all of your users, including those that visit your site from outside of the EU.

How can I make my website more GDPR and ePrivacy Directive compliant?

Use a consent management tool to gather consumer consent to collect their personal data. AdRoll has created a consent tool to help you comply with these regulatory requirements for your AdRoll services. We also provide guidance on how to use third party tools or your own.

For consent management tool best practices, please visit our Help Center: https://help.adroll.com/

AdRoll is a division of AdRoll Group.

*European Union in this document refers to the European Economic Area and the United Kingdom (even after the United Kingdom leaves the European Economic Area following Brexit.)