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Let’s Talk About Consent Management Platforms

Last updated: July 17, 2023

Data consent and privacy have been and continue to be hot topics in every industry today. As technology continues to advance, there is a growing concern for guaranteeing that data, especially customer data, is secure and being handled responsibly. Various security breaches like Cambridge Analytica, Marriott, and more recently Capital One, have influenced customers’ desire to pay closer attention to their personal data. These incidents have also motivated lawmakers to take action; they stress the urgency for legislation around how data is collected, stored, and used. Consent Management has become a popular strategy over the last couple of years to ensure that regulations are being followed.

What Is Consent Management?

Consent Management involves adhering to legislation and gaining consent from customers before collecting their website data. Customer data is gathered from website visitors using cookies that assemble information such as IP information, device/browser type, onsite behaviors, etc. In light of laws and regulation that have been passed, companies are placing a large focus on implementing consent management strategies. These strategies ensure that companies are managing customer data in a way that follows mandatory legislation standards.

How Do CMPs Get Involved?

Consent Management Platforms are the next installment for ensuring customer data collection is performed correctly and legally. The CMPs are a tool that assists brands in automating their consent management processes by standardizing and streamlining a company’s consent collection. By implementing a strategic process, brands can automate their method, so they don’t have to spend excess time and energy ensuring all legal requirements for data collection are being met for every consumer. There are a few main reasons for publishers to use a CMP:

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1. To request, gather and store web browsing content from consumers. Types of information that will be stored are:
   1. Who gave consent
   2. When the consent was given
   3. What the user consented to
2. To identify the preferred vendors and why they’re collecting users’ information
3. To reference customer data in order to modify consent when requested from user

A consent management platform allows publishers to keep track of consumer data and where consent for data collection has been permitted. Some CDP’s, like Omeda’s, already have the solutions in place to collect and monitor this information, they just need to be set up for the brand’s preferences. What types of consent or approval the customer must give is going to vary from one law to the next, so brands must decide and strategize on which types of information and approval they are looking to have. For example, as laws continue to be introduced and modified, being overly conservative in consent may pay off down the road.

Where Is Legislation for Customer Data Management Headed?

The conversation around consumer consent has been around for a long time. From the CAN-SPAM Act in 2003 all the way to GDPR in Spring 2018, the discussion continues to grow in importance and severity. When GDPR created the mandatory approval in the EU of consumer data collection, the action quickly followed in other countries’ legislation. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, legislation to guarantee the protection of data and privacy is now being pursued in over 100 countries. Countries that already have some sort of privacy laws in place is up to 58 percent.

In the United States, California’s Consumer Privacy Act was the first legislation to be introduced. New York followed suite and introduced an even stricter bill than CCPA. Although it failed to pass, that will not be the last of the discussion on consumer consent and privacy. In 2018 alone, over 265 bills or resolutions related to cybersecurity were introduced in at least 35 states, D.C. and Puerto Rico according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

There is no question that there is an increasing emphasis on the importance of consent for using customer data. Eventually, the issue will require legislation at the federal level. As the conversation continues to gain momentum and evolve, consent management’s importance and relevance will also continue to rise. Creating a strategy to comply with new legislation is important, and CMPs can be a main piece of the equation.

What Kind of CMP Should You Look For?

The more popular Consent Management Platforms become, the greater the number of solutions will flood the market. Each CMP is unique and has its own strategy for confirming consent from website visitors. Before purchasing another solution to add to your MarTech stack, check to see if your CDP doesn’t already have something in place or as an option, like Omeda’s consent monitoring capabilities. Consent management is a strategy, with CMPs only being a part of the full concept, so you want to make sure that the CMP you choose aligns with your company’s desired outcome. If you are trying to find the right CMP to utilize, consider the following:

1. Is the CMP complying with the law? Is the consent valid?
   There have already been issues where CMPs have claimed to be a proper solution for publishers, when in reality they weren’t meeting the standards necessary for consent. Being the publisher, make sure that you use a validator or analyze the CMP yourself to ensure it is following all the legal requirements for data collection and consent. The IAB Europe has also created a tool to validate CMPs, which can be helpful to verify which CMPs are trustworthy.
2. Does the CMP integrate with other MarTech solutions?
   We talk about this all the time – the more complicated technology gets, the more difficult it is to keep track of all your data. Having an array of different solutions can quickly become inefficient and confusing for any brand. Try to find a CMP that also offers additional MarTech solutions, such as having a full customer database, integrating with marketing automation tools, attaching to an ESP, etc.
3. Which industries does the CMP operate in? Where do they specialize?
   There are a lot of different industries that are using CMPs for gathering user data consent. Looking into which industries the CMP specializes in can help to determine if it’s a good fit. Also, each consumer privacy law is going to be slightly different. Which legislation is the CMP in question trying to follow? Finding a more inclusive platform that adheres to the requirements of a variety of different consumer data-related legislation will set your brands up for less stress in the long run.

Omeda’s CMP Solution

At Omeda, we take customer data and user consent very seriously. We are actively trying to help our clients stay ahead of advances in technology and in legislation when it comes to consumer data. If you would like more information on the topic or would like to learn more about how Omeda collects and stores user consent, please fill out the form below. We’d love to connect!

Photo by Dayne Topkin on Unsplash

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