The IAB Europe has recently carried out a series of compliance checks with CMPs and publishers to ensure that all actors in the advertising chain comply with the GDPR and the ePrivacy directives. With the imminent move to the new version of the TCFv2, publishers and CMPs will be subject to rigorous compliance checks, which need to be anticipated now.
✅ TCF: a common language for more trust and transparency
The Transparency and Consent Framework (TCF) aims to enforce compliance with privacy regulation by proposing common rules for the processing of personal data or the access and storage of information such as cookies, advertising identifiers, device identifiers and other tracking technologies.
The TCF creates an environment in which website publishers can tell visitors what data is collected and how their website and the companies they partner with intend to use it. It provides legal certainty for all economic actors, helps to ensure the sustainability of business models, and reduces the direct costs of compliance.
This standard is based on 3 pillars:
- The terms and conditions to which the various vendors and CMPs adhere upon registration.
- The policies that frame the obligations and data collection.
- The technical specifications that form the framework in which the actors will work.
✅ The CMP Validator’s compliance check
The IAB Europe’s audit focuses on the proper application of policies, i.e. the rules governing the participation of each of the players in the framework. With the advent of TCFv2 , these checks will be more and more frequent, so it is advisable to anticipate them by analyzing the new policies.
Preparing for the checks may seem demanding, but their role is essential: they allow everyone to feel safe in this standard, to understand each other, and to collaborate serenely, in compliance with the rules of the GDPR and the ePrivacy Directive.
The CMP Validator is managed by IAB Europe and oversees the compliance process of CMPs participating in the TCF. All CMPs that register with the TCF must pass the test before receiving a CMP ID that allows them to define a TCF consent chain.
The CMP Validator has the compliance check as main feature. It is published on the Chrome Web Store in private mode and is only available to CMPs that register to the TCF, or publishers operating a CMP registered to the TCF. So it is an add-on to Chrome that systematically verifies a certain number of qualitative and technical compliance points with TCF policies. Each check is colour-coded according to 4 possible states (pass/fail/ manual check required/not applicable).
All publishers who take this step benefit from a security that can then be promoted to their partners. A successful audit is an important differentiating asset for publishers on the market.
Conversely, if you do not pass the TCF compliance check, the consequences are considerable: you can be banned from the TCF and no longer be able to carry out programmatic targeted advertising with the vendors you work with. You then have a period of 15 days in which to bring yourself up to date, at the risk of being disqualified.
To request access, you can send an e-mail from your organization’s domain to: tcf.compliance@iabeurope.eu.
✅ CMPs: Publishers’ allies and key players in the supply chain
With TCFv2, the common framework evolves to reassure and provide confidence to all stakeholders. The evolution mainly concerns compliance with the rules, and thus reinforces the role of CMPs who become indispensable players, true intermediaries between publishers and the TCF.
TCF’s rules make it possible to regain control over one’ s site and to better understand where the data goes and what is done with it. The implementation of a CMP makes them aware of what is at stake and increases their expertise. To be in conformity thanks to a CMP is to take back the control on your activity, and to create a bond of confidence with your customers.
Preparing for TCFv2 transition
TCFv2 also features new UI elements such as stacks, which allow publishers to group purposes into a category, and present information and choices by levels. This simplifies the presentation of purposes – expanding from 5 to 12 – without depriving users of more granular information and choices. In one sentence, TCFv2 will allow better control.
Getting ready for TCFv2 is paramount
The compliance check is a crucial step in the implementation of the TCF and the proper respect of the standards established by the IAB Europe.
With the implementation of TCFv2 fast approaching, new validators and compliance checks have been developed and are available. Didomi has already been validated for version 2. We are thus able to accompany you in your transition towards greater transparency in order to comply with the law.