Consent is not consent if it’s not authentic

Amid another delay to Google’s third-party cookie deprecation, many organisations may well take their sweet time moving away from the cookie. But although they make the collection of user data easier, cookie’s lack of authenticity leaves users in the lurch.

After a long period in which consumers’ data has been shared and re-shared far and wide, people are finally taking back control of their personal information online.

The market for personal data flourished in parallel with the rise of the digital advertising industry; once adtech providers and brands realised that it was possible to track people’s movement around the internet and use it as a proxy for anything they were interested in, it was impossible to resist the temptation to leverage it to maximum effect.

Many people would argue that’s not such a bad thing. If, as a consumer, you’re going to be hit with ads on your digital journey, they might as well be ads for things you’re potentially interested in – it’s a perfectly reasonable argument.

The problem was that, until recently, the vast majority of consumers were not really aware of what was happening to their data – not aware that they were being tracked for the sole purpose of trying to sell them products.

Thankfully, things are starting to change, partly due to the actions of regulators and the introduction of tighter data privacy laws such as GDPR and the California Consumer Privacy Act.

And partly through those within big tech, primarily Google with its Privacy Sandbox initiative, and Apple with the launch of its ATT framework, which requires app publishers to seek users’ permission to track their activity in other apps and on websites.

Adtech’s response to these initiatives has been two-fold: either find another way to track people online via some kind of universal ID system or device fingerprinting; or shift from personal targeting towards contextual targeting, where people see ads that are contextually relevant to the editorial content around them – like an ad for running shoes alongside a report on an athletics meet, for example.

Offering users agency and control with authentic consent

There is, however, another way, one that is bringing a change to digital advertising and putting authentic consent and privacy at the core.

Based on what we at Utiq call authentic consent, users are offered agency and control. Authentic consent is an active agreement that tells people what they are consenting to (if they choose to do so), what data will be collected, and why.



It’s a form of consent that is completely open and transparent with the user; one that tells them freely that they are being asked to share their personal data, but explains why the brand or the publisher believes it’s in their interests to do so. It explains the value exchange in clear and simple terms and then leaves it to the consumer to decide whether or not it’s for them.

Another key aspect of authentic consent is that it is non-binding. With authentic consent, it’s as easy for the consumer to revoke any consent as it was to grant it in the first place. The opt-out is not buried in impenetrable small print, but easily accessible so that anyone who has second thoughts can easily withdraw the consent previously given.

With authentic consent, no data is sold. It is simply shared with any brands and publishers the user consents to, so that they can recognise people and serve them relevant advertising, without access to their identity.

Authentic consent is a win-win, both for consumers and an ad tech industry – it’s a far more democratic way of doing things – one that, for once, is honest with consumers, gives them all the facts, and then leaves them to decide whether they want to give their consent or not. What’s more, it reassures them that any consent given can be just as easily revoked.

Although the third party cookie isn’t going down without a fight, it will one day finally disappear, and we have an opportunity to adopt a new way of operating grounded in legitimate authentic consent.

Also published in: Performance Marketing World