How should you obtain user consent?
Are you breaking the law with the way you are obtaining user consent? Many companies don’t know how consent management has changed, but don’t worry, we’re here to help.
You’re concerned about data privacy and complying with regulations, but it’s complex and getting more so. Your expertise lies with your core business, not necessarily with implementing cookie banners.
Best practices for obtaining compliant consent
The Usercentrics Optimizing Consent Data and User Trust whitepaper will walk you through best practices and important changes to how you obtain user consent on your website. (What are “dark patterns”, anyway?)
We will also help you optimize your cookie banner to boost consent rates so you get the high quality data your business needs for marketing campaigns and ad revenue.
User expectations and privacy laws are changing
Today your customers and visitors want both personalized experiences and strong data privacy. We will help you deliver both while creating a competitive advantage. Since the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into effect in 2018, organizations and consumers have become more aware of and concerned with data privacy.
More data privacy laws will come, and existing laws will evolve as technologies and people’s expectations change, creating challenges for regulators and organizations alike.
Fines and other penalties are a risk for companies that fail to meet their data privacy compliance responsibilities. You also risk loss of user trust and brand reputation, which can have long-term negative consequences. This can affect company growth and revenue as customers, partners, and others look for companies that take data privacy seriously.
Make consent management a competitive advantage
Data protection, respect for privacy, and corporate transparency are increasingly becoming requirements of consumers who decide where to direct their attention and spending. Customers who trust companies’ privacy policies and actions are more likely to have higher engagement and be willing to share more data over time.
Marketing operations are also becoming increasingly sophisticated and integrated, so organizations need to have a strong understanding of where their data is, how it’s used across tools and campaigns, and who can access it. Integrating data privacy policies and user consent into how activities like preference management are used helps ensure both regulatory compliance and positive user experiences.
Opt in vs. opt out consent – what’s the difference?
More data privacy regulations are being passed around the world, and they have notable differences. Many laws, like the EU’s GDPR, require prior consent (opt-in) for data processing. Do not collect user data before you get consent.
The United States uses an opt-out model. In many cases you do not need to get consent before collecting data, but users must be notified about data use and provided the option to opt out.
Consent management for global businesses
Companies that operate in more than one region are increasingly likely to have to comply with multiple regulations. A consent management solution such as Usercentrics’ CMP can be valuable to help you with this.
Features like geotargeting and auto-translation enable the cookie banner to display the correct data use and consent information for specific users, in their own language, regardless of where they live.
There are more and more restrictions on how companies can collect user consent. Fortunately, technology to obtain and manage consent has also evolved, enabling:
- more customized and user-friendly interfaces
- more customized messaging and language options
- better automation for setup and maintenance
Usercentrics research
Our updated research included over 1 billion displays of and over 700 million interactions with the Usercentrics Consent Management Platform (CMP). We looked at what affects user interactions with the CMP and their consent choices, including:
- audience
- branding
- website or app purpose
- relevant regulations
- Data Processing Services (DPS) in use
We investigated many elements in the consent banner and its display, all of which are customizable, to find the optimized configurations. These include:
- use of a banner or wall
- how site access is handled
- appearance (color, fonts, logos, buttons, etc.)
- information placement in the layers
A few key elements and good UX practices can make a big difference in gaining users’ attention, providing them with key information, and obtaining their informed, granular, voluntary consent.
Get the expert information you need
It is also important to work with your data protection officer or other privacy expert and qualified legal counsel to ensure you clearly understand your organization’s data privacy responsibilities under relevant regulations. You also need to know what information you are required to provide to users whose data you collect and process.
Usercentrics does not provide legal advice, and information is provided for educational purposes only. But we are also always happy to help, whether it’s figuring out your data privacy compliance responsibilities or how the Usercentrics’ CMP will integrate into your tech stack.
Download the Optimizing Consent Data and User Trust Whitepaper now.
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