Darkening Clouds from Europe
In May 2018, the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will go into effect and will fundamentally change how advertisers and consumers interact in the online environment. When effective, the regulation will significantly increase current restrictions on advertiser access to personal consumer information, will require additional data management procedures and will mandate new advertising disclosure requirements. In many respects, the efforts required to comply will resemble the same kinds of undertakings organizations went through to comply with Sarbanes-Oxley and Dodd-Frank. Importantly, the failure to comply carries fines as high as four percent of a company's global turnover. Unfortunately, the EU has provided very little meaningful guidance on actions companies must take to become compliant.
In the face of this uncertainty, the ANA is creating tools to help our members navigate and respond to these sweeping and complex regulatory changes. Among the tools we've created are a series of support materials and educational events to assure that our members have the resources they need to effectively confront the new GDPR regulatory environment. One of the tools, the ANA Playbook, identifies key steps and provides basic processes for members. The Playbook will be periodically updated based upon what members say they need and the advice of our counsel, Reed Smith. Shortly, the ANA will also expand its Resource Center offerings with an evolving FAQ addressing major question we receive from members. You can view the materials here.
We believe the ANA, with continuing feedback from our members, can best address the hard questions and move vendors, suppliers, content providers, service providers and others to help ensure GDPR compliance while providing and enhancing consumer trust and value in the marketplace. Working together, the ANA and its members now have the tools and opportunity to strategically think about and shape the future of advertising in relation to these new international regulatory changes. We are pleased to rise to the challenge for our members and their consumers.
For more information please contact me in the ANA's Washington, D.C. office at 202.296.2359 or djaffe@ana.net.
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Dan Jaffe
Dan Jaffe joined the Association of National Advertisers, Inc. in 1985 as Senior Vice President and head of ANA's Washington office. He was promoted to Executive Vice President in 1989. Previously, Mr. Jaffe spent 11 years on House and Senate staffs and …
