Peter Craddock: ePrivacy exceptions, advertising, analytics, the limits of consent and server-side processing

The EDPB has finally adopted its much feared Guidelines on the scope of article 5.3 of the ePrivacy Directive, but consent may still be avoided in some cases not specifically covered by an exemption (e.g., analytics). Absent such an exception, and in light of dismal consent rates, publishers and platforms have embraced highly controversial “Consent or Pay” models. Plan C? Server-side processing (Conversion APIs, Enhanced Conversions, Data Clean Rooms…), not without its own challenges.

We have gone through all of it with Peter Craddock in his second appearance on Masters of Privacy. 

Peter Craddock is a lawyer as well as a software developer, and he uses this dual background to help clients find legal solutions to technical problems and technical solutions to legal problems. He is based in Brussels and helps international companies with their global data strategy and with EU data litigation. He notably has strong expertise in the legal aspects of digital advertising and adtech, and has been one of the most prominent commentators of recent legal developments in that area.

References:

• Peter Craddock on LinkedIn
• Op-Ed: A critical analysis of the EDPB's "Pay or Consent" Opinion (Peter Craddock)
• Peter Craddock: Comparison of the final version of the EDPB’s ePrivacy guidelines with the version of November 2023 (including links to more in-depth comments on those guidelines)
• EDPB Opinion 08/2024 on Valid Consent in the Context of Consent or Pay Models Implemented by Large Online Platforms
• AEPD guidelines for the use of cookies without need for consent in the context of digital analytics (ES)
• Peter Craddock on Masters of Privacy (February 2024): Could core advertising components fall under the “strictly necessary” exemption of the ePrivacy Directive?
• Romain Robert: Pay or OK in AdTech - How it started and where it’s going (Masters of Privacy)
• Renzo Marchini: Unintended consequences of the EDPB guidelines on storage and access under article 5.3 of the ePrivacy Directive (Masters of Privacy) 
• Cristiana Santos and Victor Morel: The problem with CMPs and TCF-based cookie paywalls (Masters of Privacy)
• Robert Bateman: Consent or Pay (Masters of Privacy)
• Peter Hense: How first party data will kill CMPs (Masters of Privacy)