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I recently spent some time in Washington DC at the IAB Public Policy and Legal Summit, and as always, I came back with a lot to think about. One session in particular has stayed with me: a discussion around trends in CIPA litigation that every privacy professional within digital advertising should hear.
The short version: the litigation landscape is shifting, and companies that aren't paying attention are leaving themselves exposed.
From Individual Sites to the Broader Ecosystem
For a while, CIPA cases were largely focused simply on whether this or that pixel is present on a given company’s site. That's starting to change. Plaintiffs' counsel is increasingly looking upstream at the real-time bidding ecosystem, at what data is being passed to downstream partners. The exposed flanks are broadening. Panelists flagged that faulty banner functionality and cookie classifications are increasingly being framed as deception issues in some cases, which raises the stakes considerably.
What You Can Do
The good news is that there are concrete, proactive steps companies can take to reduce their risk.
Data minimization, especially around sensitive personal information (including precise geolocation), can go a long way toward narrowing your exposure. The less personal information you're collecting in the first place, the smaller the target on your back.
Good governance matters a great deal here. Websites shift over time, and if you're not paying close attention to what's happening at the front door – such as your CMP configuration, banner functionality, or cookie classifications – you can find yourself with unforced errors. Spend quality time with your CMP team. Connect with peers at other companies to discuss what's working. Operationalizing controls isn't glamorous work, but it's essential.
One point that stood out to me from the session: you cannot rely on your CMP to grade its own homework. Independent, third-party verification of whether your intentions are actually being carried out in practice, page load by page load, is increasingly a must-have rather than a nice-to-have. This is exactly where a tool like Boltive's can make a real difference, giving you visibility into what's actually happening on your site and in your downstream ad supply chain rather than relying on the CMP's own reporting.
Legacy systems are another significant area of risk. As companies grow, old pixels stick around long after anyone remembers why they were there, still active, still collecting data. An annual or semi-annual spring cleaning of your technology stack as well as your data maps is time well spent. While you're at it, make sure you know what third-party consultants are putting on your site and that it's documented.
Finally, think about litigation mitigation the way your security team thinks about incident response. Run tabletop exercises. Take a look at the claims and settlements that have been made public and ask yourself: if we got a demand letter tomorrow with those same claims, what would we do? Getting ahead of that question and demonstrating a good faith, well-documented effort to go above and beyond minimum requirements can make a real difference in how a case unfolds.
This is serious, but it doesn't have to drive your business decisions. The right tools and the right processes can keep you protected and keep you moving forward.
If you'd like to understand how Boltive can help you get independent visibility into your CMP performance and downstream data flows, we'd love to offer you a free assessment.
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