Vendors Rush to Bring Privacy Verification Solutions to Market

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This post is the latest in our “Pursuing Privacy” series. It’s our editorial focus for the month of June, including topics like location data and ad targeting. See the rest of the series here


The demand for data privacy is at an all-time high, just as consumer trust in the technology space is at an all-time low. Advertisers are grappling with wasted ad spend and uncertainty over ad verification. The market is in disarray, and technology vendors are hoping they have a solution to the problem.

Just this month, the offline consumer intelligence and measurement company Cuebiq launched a new verification solution for third-party data. The solution gives advertisers verifiable proof of compliance with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).

Cuebiq is just one of a number of technology firms trying to verify data and user consent at a time when enforcement of GDPR is ramping up. One year after GDPR went into effect, companies are still questioning how best to come into compliance and whether the framework itself puts more pressure on smaller firms than larger ones.

Cuebiq’s new solution enables users, partners, and customers to run third-party audits to verify data provenance, user consent, and privacy compliance. Named the Consent Management and Data Provenance solution—or CMDP for short—the solution gives companies a straightforward way to prove their compliance with GDPR and CCPA in relation to the Cuebiq products and services they use.

“Our unwavering commitment to privacy was one of the major factors behind launching CMDP. In addition to the moral and ethical implications of user privacy driving our efforts, we also recognize that for brands, agencies, and publishers, the privacy compliance of data partners is becoming a business issue,” says Antonio Tomarchio, CEO and founder of Cuebiq. “In fact, in today’s data-driven landscape, brand safety is no longer just about the environment in which ads run—it is also tied to the origin of the data that brands use for their initiatives.”

Tomarchio describes the new solution as “future-proof,” in that Cuebiq’s approach means the company—and its clients—will be ready for the stricter state-specific privacy laws that are sure to come in the future, as well as a potential federal omnibus privacy law.

At last month’s PrivacyTech user conference, the privacy management technology platform OneTrust announced an update it’s calling OneTrust 5.0, which centrally manages policy and notices across platforms, automates consumer request completion, and automates the third-party risk lifecycle. Consent management platforms (CMPs) have also become a popular way to manage user consent without building an in-house solution.

Tomarchio says Cuebiq’s new solution is different from anything else on the market.

“To date, compliance has been self-reported. We don’t think self-regulation is an acceptable solution,” Tomarchio says. “Our solution leverages blockchain technology to create an immutable, verifiable, and auditable data provenance and consent management framework, which certifies opt-in and opt-out.”

As of now, publishers working with Cuebiq can use the company’s SDK to benefit from CMDP and provide their advertising partners certified audiences for targeting. They’re also able to certify that all data used for targeting and attribution is CCPA-ready and GDPR-compliant.

“As we deploy the CMDP at scale, all publishers will be able to access verifiable proof of compliance with GDPR and CCPA in relation to the Cuebiq products and services they use,” Tomarchio says. “For example, the CMDP solution enables our publisher partners to offer advertisers CCPA-compliant audiences for targeting.”

Because the privacy data industry is still in its early days, relatively speaking, Tomarchio sees a real opportunity for Cuebiq to become a leader in the space. Being first to market has been an important part of this strategy.

“In this evolving landscape, a number of players in the space will find their business models and approaches under fire and difficult to maintain in their current form,” Tomarchio says. “Where other companies will need to invest time and resources to shift to a legally compliant privacy position, we are at an advantage as we have had a forward-thinking approach to privacy from the start.”

Stephanie Miles is a senior editor at Street Fight.Rainbow over Montclair

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Stephanie Miles is a journalist who covers personal finance, technology, and real estate. As Street Fight’s senior editor, she is particularly interested in how local merchants and national brands are utilizing hyperlocal technology to reach consumers. She has written for FHM, the Daily News, Working World, Gawker, Cityfile, and Recessionwire.