?? Press pause for privacy

Lucid Privacy Group

Trusted Global Privacy Specialists for Data-Driven Companies

发布日期: 2024年11月20日

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Lucid folks,

Both the DOJ and the UK's CMA are putting Google under the microscope, but from different angles. In the U.S., the DOJ wants to break Google’s monopoly in search and ad tech, aiming for structural remedies that may see Chrome spun off. Across the pond, the CMA is demanding updates to Google’s Privacy Sandbox to prevent it from entrenching dominance as cookies disappear, supposedly now through an account level user choice prompt.?

In this issue:

On CTV privacy
What the heck is “ACR”?
The financial sector has a privacy donut hole

…and more.

From our bullpen to your screens,

Colin O'Malley & Lucid Privacy Group Team

With Alex Krylov (Editor/Lead Writer), Ross Webster (Writer, EU & UK), Raashee Gupta Erry (Writer, US & World), McKenzie Thomsen, CIPP/US (Writer, Law & Policy)

?? If this is the first time seeing our Privacy Bulletin in your feed, give it a read and let us know what you think. For more unvarnished insights, visit our Blog.

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Connected TV in Europe: Balancing Growth, Privacy, and Innovation

As Ross Webster and Alex Krylov write:

Connected TV (CTV) is experiencing meteoric growth across Europe, transformed by viewers now consuming their content through Smart TVs, Set-Top Boxes, Streaming Devices, and Gaming Consoles.?

With over 80% of European households with connected TVs now preferring CTV to traditional linear television, the industry stands at a crucial intersection of commercial opportunity and data protection challenge.

Recent data from Freewheel's Market Report highlights the dramatic expansion of CTV in the UK and Europe. Currently accounting for 46% of all ad-supported premium video content views, CTV has witnessed a remarkable 31% year-over-year increase. This growth trajectory shows no signs of slowing, with projections indicating a continued 20% annual growth through 2025.?

With younger viewers flocking to Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV (FAST) category, it’s easy to see why advertisers are following suit, recognizing the powerful combination of traditional TV's impact with digital advertising's data-driven results.

Yet, CTV’s rapid growth in programmatic advertising brings complex challenges, in privacy and advertising-compliance. Where an ecosystem is challenged to agree on common policies and standards, viewer data practices and privacy experiences become fragmented, too...??

Are Kids Safe on CTV? What Every Parent Needs to Know

In the age of Bluey marathons and Cocomelon singalongs, Connected TVs (CTVs) have become the ultimate family entertainment hub.?

Why it matters: Whether it’s Disney+ or Nickelodeon lighting up your living room, CTVs offer an endless stream of content for kids—and a quieter moment for parents. But here’s a question you might not have thought about while your little ones are glued to the screen: what kind of data is that device collecting, and who’s using it?

What they track: Your streaming device isn’t just streaming shows; it’s gathering data every time it’s turned on, every time apps are installed or accessed, and user profiles are managed (depending on the system). To borrow from Roku’s privacy policy, the data collected as part of your ‘Smart TV Experience’ can also include what your kids watch.

"When you use a smart TV with our operating system (e.g., a Roku TV model) with the Smart TV Experience enabled, we use Automatic Content Recognition (“ACR”) technology to receive information about what you watch via the TV’s antenna (including live television content and ads), and via devices connected to your TV (including streaming players, consoles and cable and satellite set top boxes)."
"For example, we collect TV viewing information such as the programs, commercials, and channels you view, the date, time and duration of the viewing, and how you use the on-screen TV guide. We collect TV viewing information both when you access live TV directly through your Smart TV’s interface and when you access live TV from within a Third-Party Channel."

COPPA cabana: For Disney+ and other streamers, kids’ programming is a major draw. Half of all Paramount+ subscribers watch Nickelodeon content, and Cocomelon regularly tops Netflix’s charts. The data collected during these sessions—like what your kids watch, how long they watch, and even where from—trigger privacy rules.?

To give credit where it is due, in addition to reading Disney’s children’s privacy policy, take a look at what it takes for Disney to become Kid’s Privacy Assured.
In contrast, if companies know kids are watching—like when your household streams a kids’ profile—they’re supposed to know to take extra precautions. Some services may not act unless explicitly informed, leaving your child’s data subject to potentially lower standards of care.?

Zooming out: It is no secret that CTV platforms often share data with advertisers, who use it to target ads back to your household—or when knowable, directly to your child. Even if the ads are contextually targeted based on ACR technology, the fact that the content is child-directed can be enough to trigger COPPA here in the U.S. As parents, we trust CTV (and OTT) platforms to provide safe, family-friendly entertainment. But that trust should be earned. The growing CTV market must step up to address the unique challenges of shared devices and kid-oriented programming.

-RGE

Rebutting The FTC: Data Clean Rooms Are ‘Privacy-Preserving’

As Ben Isaacson writes in his reaction to the FTC’s new staff report on data clean rooms:?

Rather than separation, the FTC actually combines facts with fiction, seemingly in an effort to restate negative positions against the advertising industry.?

The FTC only provides one example in their effort to define data clean rooms -? a grocery store advertiser measuring the effectiveness of their newspaper ads, without any reference to the methodology used by this fictitious example. How can the FTC encapsulate the complexity and scope of the technology without more fully describing the definition and use cases??

The FTC’s only other reference to define the scope of services of data clean rooms is a link to an article by The Markup (with a sub-headline about ‘dirt on data brokers’) with equally vague references to the clean room technologies used…

Other Happenings

Another stretch, another busy news cycle. Here's what caught our attention this time.

Binge-Watching: The Privacy Trade-Off You Didn’t Sign Up For. The Center for Digital Democracy’s latest report reveals how ad-supported platforms are turning TVs into data-harvesting machines. With regulators lagging and a robust federal privacy law remaining a question mark in the U.S., the authors call this a wake-up call. Because when your TV knows you better than your best friend, you may want to hit pause.
Freevee Bows Out: Amazon's Attempt at Free Streaming Fades Away. Amazon just axed Freevee, conceding it can't juggle too many streaming brands. With Prime Video's ad-supported tier taking over, Freevee's demise was inevitable—it offered free content but little profit. In the cutthroat streaming wars, rising fees strain viewers while ad dollars wander. Consolidation looms, and for Amazon, simplification is the name of the game. #gameofstreamingthrones.
CFPB Calls on States to Close Federal Gaps in Personal Financial Data Protections. The CFPB report reveals a Wild West of financial data privacy. Financial institutions are raking in cash by monetizing consumer data, yet federal privacy laws like the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act offer weak protections with opt-out schemes that don’t hold up in today’s data economy. State laws? They’re busy giving banks a free pass. Meanwhile, companies collect everything from your income to your spending habits. Time for states to plug the gaps before privacy becomes just another luxury.
Meta to Offer Users Contextual Ads Through Revised ‘CoP’ Model. Meta’s EU ad strategy is doing another 180. After getting slapped with a €390M fine, Meta is rolling out an opt-in system for behavioral or… less profile-based ads, giving users a clear “yes or no” choice with a non-behavioral option. It’s a move forced by regulators, not kindness, as the EU cracks down on sneaky legal bases like “contractual necessity.” We’ve said it before and will say it again, what’s OK for a news publisher may not be OK for Meta.