Leading publishers are regularly confronted with requests for information from data protection authorities in Germany and other EU member states. These relate to the processing of personal data under the GDPR, including:

• lawfulness of processing (art. 6(1) GDPR)
• information requirements (art. 13 GDPR)
• data protection by design and by default (art. 25(2) GDPR)
• responsibility and ability to demonstrate compliance (art. 5(2) GDPR)

ePrivacy was therefore recently asked by well-known publishers (including Axel Springer, Burda Forward, iq digital, netpointmedia, SevenOneMedia, STRÖER and United Internet Media) to assess vendor compliance with data protection and, against this background, launched a Vendor Compliance (VenCo) Programme.

The objective of the Vendor Compliance Programme is to certify vendor compliance with the TCF and related data protection standards by means of a quality seal.

Participation in the Vendor Compliance Programme

Participation in the programme with final successful certification confirms to the publishers compliance with:

• the IAB Europe Transparency and Consent Framework 2.0
• related aspects of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
• the 2021 German Telecommunications and Telemedia Data Protection Act (TTDSG)

Certification Process

ePrivacy conducts the certification process - which is completed by the award of the ePrivacy Vendor Compliance Seal - as follows:

1. audit of vendor product documentation
2. evaluation of vendor privacy policy
3. data security check
4. audit of further documents and plausibility checks
5. review of international data transfers (SCCs and TIAs)
6. compliance with of TCF 2.0 Policies and further requirements

The ePrivacy Vendor Compliance Seal enables the vendor exclusive access to a database in which the information is stored.

The detailed criteria catalogue for the Vendor Compliance Seal can be downloaded over the ePrivacy website (or will be provided separately).

The seal enables competitive advantages for vendors in the online marketing industry.