Background and future of 3rd Party Cookie regulations
Posted: Thu Jan 30, 2025 9:41 am
Digital marketing strategies using cookies are the backbone of any business and an essential mechanism for expanding business performance.
However, with growing awareness of personal information protection, third-party cookies are moving toward regulation.
This is because the mechanism by which third-party cookies can track users across sites has come to be seen as problematic.
The idea that "Isn't digital behavioral history personal information?" and "Isn't it a problem to use personal information against the individual's wishes?" has become widespread, and attention has begun to be drawn to the negative aspects of third-party cookies.
2.1 The trigger was the implementation of GDPR
The enforcement of the GDPR in the EU marked a sudden usa consumer email list tightening of regulations on third-party cookies.
The GDPR is a law that stipulates how personal data is handled in the EU.
In the digital marketing industry, what is particularly noteworthy about the GDPR is that cookies and IP addresses, which are not considered personal information individually under Japanese law, are now treated as personal data.
Subsequently, in Japan, the revised Personal Information Protection Act, which came into effect on April 1, 2022, positioned information such as cookies and IP addresses as "personal information" and clarified regulations regarding their handling.
As an example, it was made clear that when providing personal information to a third party, if the receiving company intends to link the personal information it holds with the provided personal information for use, it must obtain the individual's consent.
Going forward, companies engaged in digital marketing will need to be even more careful in how they handle personal information. It is also important to keep an eye on future legal systems and industry rules.
However, with growing awareness of personal information protection, third-party cookies are moving toward regulation.
This is because the mechanism by which third-party cookies can track users across sites has come to be seen as problematic.
The idea that "Isn't digital behavioral history personal information?" and "Isn't it a problem to use personal information against the individual's wishes?" has become widespread, and attention has begun to be drawn to the negative aspects of third-party cookies.
2.1 The trigger was the implementation of GDPR
The enforcement of the GDPR in the EU marked a sudden usa consumer email list tightening of regulations on third-party cookies.
The GDPR is a law that stipulates how personal data is handled in the EU.
In the digital marketing industry, what is particularly noteworthy about the GDPR is that cookies and IP addresses, which are not considered personal information individually under Japanese law, are now treated as personal data.
Subsequently, in Japan, the revised Personal Information Protection Act, which came into effect on April 1, 2022, positioned information such as cookies and IP addresses as "personal information" and clarified regulations regarding their handling.
As an example, it was made clear that when providing personal information to a third party, if the receiving company intends to link the personal information it holds with the provided personal information for use, it must obtain the individual's consent.
Going forward, companies engaged in digital marketing will need to be even more careful in how they handle personal information. It is also important to keep an eye on future legal systems and industry rules.