A series of new online advertising laws from the UK Committee on Advertising Practices (CAP) came into effect in February this year; the rules cover online behavioural advertising practices, and as a result the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) will now be regulating the use of behavioural tracking and targeting technologies online. As an advertiser, it’s important to ensure that you’re compliant with these latest rules, and as a consumer, you should know how this affects you and your online experience.
Let’s take a closer look at these legal developments, and the reasons behind them.
About OBA
Until now, advertising networks have used tracking technologies such as cookies to keep tabs on user behaviour online, and with the information gathered, they have been able to display online advertisements that catered to the users’ apparent interests. This is known as online behavioural advertising or OBA. Any international law firm would agree that a fully transparent approach is necessary in these cases, to ensure that OBA is ethically employed across the board.
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