What is the IAB TFC 2.0 Framework? Epom Joins the Party

In today's world, personal data is being collected at an alarming rate. Privacy and data protection are now playing a more critical role in marketing strategies. According to Marketing Dive, 71% of consumers worry about brands 'handling' of their data. So how can advertisers and publishers help keep these consumers happy and abide by the changing privacy laws?

A little over a year ago, in August 2019, IAB Europe launched its Transparency and Consent Framework, also known as TCF. Over the past year, they have collected feedback on the framework and improved the original based on it. On August 15th, 2020, the IAB TFC 2.0 Framework was launched with better user-focused mechanisms and to adhere to the current industry regulations.

New frameworks can be all kinds of confusing, especially those that center around tech and privacy. As Epom has now joined the club and registered to the IAB TCF Framework, in this article we will clear up what the framework is all about, how it's different from the previous version, and how Epom's platform utilizes the new standards now.

What is the IAB Transparency & Consent Framework?

To understand what TCF v2.0 is, we need to roll back the clocks to May 25th, 2018. A date I'm sure we all remember as the enforcement of the European GDPR law. This legislation dramatically changed the data privacy landscape across Europe and the United Kingdom.

The GDPR created a standardized set of rules for privacy across the continent and gave users greater control and transparency over the data the companies held on them. The IAB TCF is a consent solution for GDPR that was built by people in the industry for the industry.

For publishers, It works by creating an environment for them to inform their visitors about the data that will be collected about them while they are on the site, how it will be stored and what the publisher will use it for.

For vendors, including Supply Side Platforms (SSPs), Demand Side Platforms (DSPs), ad servers, and data management platforms used on a publishers' site, they can apply to be part of the Global Vendor List (GVL) which allows them participation in the TCF v2.0. By participating in the TCF, vendors that work with a publisher have a way to process user data on a legal basis under the GDPR.

What's New in IAB TCF 2.0?

Version 2.0 of the IAB TCF was launched in August 2019, coming with a few new features. The key ones to note include:

• Users can now use their 'right to object' under the GDPR to stop their data from being processed.
• Users will now be given more detailed descriptions of the reasons why their data is being processed. They will now be well informed about the data processing and can decide how their data is used and if they want to give consent to publishers.
• Publishers will now be able to add increased restrictions on their vendors. They can restrict the purposes and legal reasons why vendors can collect and process their user's data and offer greater customizations to their vendors.
• Vendors will be able to use data for legitimate interests that are not restricted by the website publisher.

The Difference Between IAB TCF 1.0 vs. IAB 2.0

In the previous version of IAB TCF, things were a little different. The new version addresses the issues raised by the first. Some big issues have been addressed and the key difference between IAB TCF 1.0 vs. IAB 2.0 are:

• More control for publishers: Publishers will have a greater say in the advertisers that they collaborate with, they can remove vendors that they do not want to work with and choose what legal reasons vendors can use to collect their visitor's data.
• Inclusion of legitimate interest provisions: Using the IAB TCF 1.0 publishers were not able to apply legitimate interests as their legal reason for collecting and processing data.
• Better collaboration between all parties (publishers, vendors, and data protection interest): A key issue that was identified by the IAB TCF in the first version was that it swayed towards favoring vendors and the expense of publishers. With feedback from publishers, it now gives them the control that they were in need, allowing all parties to collaborate easily.

Epom Joins The Party: TCF 2.0 Registered Vendor Now

As you have probably figured out from all of the above, the new version of the IAB TCF is great news for publishers and advertisers alike. Here at Epom, we certainly think so and are happy to announce that we recently upgraded our TCF framework and are now fully conforming with the new version 2.0.

Epom is now a TCF Registered Member, approved as a fully GDPR and ePrivacy Directive compliant vendor. This is great news for everyone, but especially, you, our clients. Below we explain why.

What Does Epom TCF Verification Means for Our Clients

While all the above sounds great, you may still be wondering exactly what the TCF v2.0 means for ad serving, programmatic advertising, and for you, if you use our ad server or DSP.

As a TCF Registered Member, approved as a fully GDPR compliant, when you serve ads using our ad server or DSP, you know that you are doing so within the confines of the law.

Where user information is collected and used for serving digital ads, analytics, or delivering personalized content you know that the publisher has captured user consent preferences.

Now you have a confirmation that Epom provides 100% transparency to you and your clients about how, and by whom, their personal data is processed. Advertise safely without any concerns regarding user consent and privacy!

So what is the TCF v2.0? It's a standardized framework that the digital advertising industry can rely on to serve its ads while staying compliant with the European GDPR laws. The new version comes with a bunch of new features that are much needed, and give publishers and end users greater control over ads served and retained user data.