Page 9 - 2023 Omnichannel Marketing Handbook

Exploring cookie alternatives Privacy Compliance and PII

Though extended once again until at least 2024, Google’s dead- Privacy compliance teams occasionally use the terms personally
line to phase out third-party cookies is coming. Universal IDs and identifiable information (PII) and non-personally identifiable infor-
IP identifiers are emerging as potential alternatives to both protect mation (non-PII). Legally speaking, these terms are losing their rel-
consumer privacy and allow omnichannel targeting. evance, as it’s becoming difficult to distinguish when information
really is “personal” or “identifiable.”
Developed by ad tech companies and trade groups, Universal ID
solutions assign single identifiers to users once they enter the digi- This distinction has long been made in industry self-regulatory
tal marketing supply chain. These identifiers are then recognizable codes – like those of the Network Advertising Initiative and the
by approved partners. Digital Advertising Alliance – between information that identifies
people in traditional ways (e.g., name, address, email address,
Meanwhile, using IP addresses as identifiers requires no action phone number), and information that only refers to a device or net-
from the user. They are available on all platforms, and they offer work identifier not easily linked to an actual person. These codes
marketers household-level precision for targeting. in turn treat information that can be used to identify someone by
name differently from so-called “de-identified” or “anonymous” (or
“pseudonymous”) information.

In recent years, countries and states have enacted their own privacy
laws that apply to a far wider range of identifiers, such as cookie IDs
and IP addresses. Certain sectors in the US, such as medical and
banking, have their own nomenclature around personal data, with
particular legal definitions.

This approach can be confusing, and legal expertise is often needed
to know which laws apply. The bottom line: Before agreeing to any
contract with a consumer data partner, be sure to define any terms
like “personal information,” “PII” or “personal data” so there is no
confusion or ambiguity.

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