Targeted Ads and Data Privacy

Surprising comments that there is still not clear understanding of what is required to comply. Thus the hundreds of checkboxes saying I understood that cookies where being used.  But not the details of how.

How Will Targeted Ads Fare in an Era of Data Protection?  in K@W

If targeted advertising needed indicators of both enormous growth and potential threats ahead, several recent events have been only too happy to oblige. On the one hand, this is the year mobile will edge out TV as the dominant advertising medium in the U.S., according to a forecast from eMarketer, just as Google continues to roll out products and services that make life and its logistics more seamless. On the other hand, the Cambridge Analytica episode has provided a cautionary tale in what can go wrong when a trusted tech giant like Facebook loses control over its users’ private data.

Another wild card has just begun to reveal itself. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) went into effect last month, granting individuals a greater degree of control over how firms gather, store and use their personal data. The GDPR was crafted by and for members of the European Union, but because commerce and data move freely across international borders, many firms in the U.S. and across the globe have decided to conform to its guidelines.

What exactly will it mean in the U.S.? Even the federal government appears to be unsure. “GDPR’s implementation could significantly interrupt transatlantic cooperation and create unnecessary barriers to trade, not only for the U.S. but for everyone outside the E.U.,” wrote U.S. commerce secretary Wilbur Ross in the Financial Times. “We do not have a clear understanding of what is required to comply.” .... " 

“[GDPR] will force companies to take a closer look at their data infrastructure, much more so than they would otherwise — and we know it’s a big mess out there.”–Peter Fader ... "