Today is a better day than most to think about EU privacy regulation and consider the challenges that current implementation poses to independent news and media publishers.
Whilst we wholeheartedly support the need to protect personal data, the EU data protection and privacy legal frameworks need a radical rethink.
With digital advertising already dominated by the large platforms, it is becoming harder and harder for publishers to monetise their content and finance the professional journalism that audiences desire. Current implementation of this regulation has driven a wedge between news publishers and their audience – a gap that is being thoroughly exploited by Big Tech platforms who can more easily monetise publisher content thanks to what we’d hope is an unintended consequence of the EU’s GDPR.
Over the years, the advertising value chain has become increasingly complex, and publishers have become more and more dependent on gatekeepers dominating the ecosystem. We need an advertising value chain which supports news media and publishing. It needs to be easier for publishers, who have a trusted relationship with their audiences, to process their audiences' personal data - rather than leave it to the platforms and third parties who do not have this relationship.
Ultimately, publishers need advertising revenues to finance the professional content their audiences want.
In the EPC 2030 Vision Paper, we include recommendations for the best way forward on privacy regulation:
We call on the EU to find a balance between data protection law and privacy policies while recognising the importance of ensuring the economic viability for press publishers. This includes allowing the use of personalised advertising in compliance with GDPR, and the legitimate interests of publishers to conduct a business.
We propose that the EU withdraw the draft ePrivacy Regulation and conduct a comprehensive review of existing and new regulations to identify potential overlaps or loopholes. This review should include an assessment of the outdated ePrivacy Directive with the goal of repealing it and reallocating its relevant elements into more appropriate regulations in tandem with the review of the GDPR.
To read our full Vision Paper, please visit: https://www.epceurope.eu/post/vision-paper-2025 Our recommendations on privacy and personal data can be found on pages 6-7.