The year 2024 was intense for the world of privacy and online advertising. With regulations such as the DSA and DMA, platforms like websites and e-commerce had to adapt to the requirements of the laws aimed at controlling the digital market.
One of the main topics is user consent management. European regulators, such as the EDPB (European Data Protection Board), have made it clear in their guidelines that privacy is an absolute priority for European institutions.
There is still much work to be done, but the goal is to create a competitive internet that protects both users and businesses. In any case, the trend has been twofold: increasingly protecting users while focusing on consent as a key element for managing online advertising. A clear example of this is the mentioned laws and the rulings in high-profile cases involving Meta.
At the national level, countries have also been stepping up their efforts. National data protection agencies have been increasing sanctions, focusing particularly on websites. Germany has implemented stricter consent management policies, while France set an important precedent for the digital advertising industry through technological tools with the “Cripteo” case—where the advertising tech giant was fined for GDPR violations. In Spain, the AEPD (Spanish Data Protection Agency) has also increased the number of sanctions on websites, as we have been reporting in this blog. By the way, we are still waiting for the publication of the 2024 statistics, so we will keep you updated on the results!
Ensuring user privacy while maintaining a competitive online market has not been an easy task. To the point that Google approved the Google Consent Mode 2 for Google Analytics. Later, the tech giant temporarily abandoned the idea of eliminating third-party cookies. The proposals of data rooms and Google’s Privacy Sandbox now seem like a distant memory. Clearly, new tools and solutions will emerge to tackle this challenge!
One of the most anticipated proposals is Microsoft’s tool, expected to be released in 2025. Microsoft’s tool focuses on centralized management, allowing companies to deploy models with greater flexibility, it integrates with various cloud platforms (Azure, AWS, Cloudflare) and facilitates multilingual consent management without requiring programming, adapting easily to global regulations.
Unlike Google Consent Mode, which is focused on advertising measurement within the Google ecosystem, Microsoft aims for a broader solution adaptable to different regulatory environments. However, we will discuss this further in another post!
From a regulatory perspective, predicting the future of legislation is uncertain, but some laws we are monitoring include the Accessibility Law, NIS2, and the law on minors' access to the internet.
Additionally, in June 2024, Spain’s Council of Ministers approved in its first reading the Draft Organic Law for the Protection of Minors in Digital Environments. This regulation aims to guarantee the rights of minors in the digital sphere, protecting their privacy, honor, and self-image, as well as ensuring access to age-appropriate content.
Among the proposed measures is raising the minimum age for register on social media without parental consent from 14 to 16 years. Following this initial approval, the draft must go through a second reading in the Council of Ministers before being sent to the Congress of Deputies for parliamentary processing. Although an exact approval date has not been set, the legislative process is expected to progress in the coming months.
Finally, we cannot ignore the revolution brought by artificial intelligence. Although it may not be the groundbreaking novelty it was in 2023, new cases, regulations, innovations, and challenges are expected, and at Lawwwing, we are preparing to face them. However, we cannot reveal anything just yet, even though we are eager to share what we are working on!
As you can see, the industry is changing at an incredibly fast pace, which is why a solution like Lawwwing is essential. With a team of lawyers behind us, we strive to stay ahead of new regulations before they come into force. Week after week, we improve our software so that none of our clients are ever left unprotected.
We are looking forward to this year and taking it on as an exciting challenge. How about you?
See you next time!
