Technology service providers

ePrivacy advises technology service providers in the online advertising context in cases in which stringent requirements as to data protection and data security have to be met. Certification in the form of the recognized ePrivacyseal data protection seal and EDAA-OBA certification enables technology service providers to verify vis-à-vis their customers that their products comply with German or European data protection legislation to an exemplary degree.

Technology service providers, online advertising and data protection

Publishers, marketers, advertisers and agencies are increasingly involving technology service providers, as specialists for the provision of service components, in their business processes in the online advertising context. Their expectations as to the quality of the services in question are high, for example with regard to targeting quality and of course also compliance with the relevant provisions of data protection legislation.

Examples of technology service providers are: 

  • Data management platforms
  • Demand-side platform and sell-side platforms
  • Trading desks
  • Ad exchanges
  • Ad networks 
  • Ad servers
  • Providers of analytics tools
  • Ad verification providers
  • Attribution partners
  • Data providers 
  • Aggregators
  • Anonymization service providers

What are the current data protection issues affecting technology service providers?

The online advertising sector is an extremely dynamic one, in which new technologies are constantly being deployed with a view to increasing the efficiency of advertising measures. However, on a cautionary note: New technical opportunities, e.g. with regard to the linking of sets of stored data (online/offline, cookie synchronization, integration of 3rd-party data, etc.), may also give rise to the risk of previously anonymous or pseudonymous data becoming personal data which is attributable to a particular individual. 

In ePrivacy's experience, the use or analysis of data as to the web-surfing behavior of users for the purposes of creating personalized newsletters also presents a particular challenge from the perspective of data protection law.

The classical data protection issues as to

  • The types of data, and
  • The purposes for which,
  • The legal framework conditions under which and
  • The duration for which they may be stored

often have to be evaluated in light of entirely new considerations in the wake of technological innovations.

    Sachiko Scheuing

    European Privacy Officer, Acxiom Deutschland GmbH

    As a global leader of marketing services, we uniquely fuse trust, experience and scale to fuel data-driven results. We partner with ePrivacy to assure that our data services are fully compliant with strict data protection laws.

What are the advantages for you as a technology service provider of obtaining advice from ePrivacy or product certification in the form of the ePrivacyseal or the OBA seal?

  • As a technology service provider, you will be able from the outset to develop your new products in such a manner as to ensure their compliance with currently applicable legislation ("privacy by design"),
  • which will enable you to dispense with the need for subsequent amendments in line with data protection and data security regulations and avoid data breaches and the associated subsequent financial losses and loss of reputation.
  • Obtaining certification for your product demonstrates your commitment as a technology service provider to data protection to your own customers and consumers, enabling you to build trust and gain a true competitive advantage.

Services provided by ePrivacy to technology service providers

ePrivacy GmbH's technical and legal consultants have extensive industry experience in the area of online advertising, having already advised numerous technology service providers and appraised their products as part of the certification process. ePrivacy provides the following services to technology service providers:

ePrivacy will assist you in designing your products, technologies and services in line with the extremely stringent requirements imposed by applicable data protection legislation.

A selection of our customers in this industry

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