On June 24, the Article 29 Working Party (WP29) published an opinion clarifying how and why particular rules apply to online behavioral advertising.  This was a long-expected opinion by this statutory advisory body consisting of the Data Protection Commissioners of the countries of the European Union.

Not surprisingly, WP29 concludes that online behavioral advertising networks and website publishers have an obligation to obtain affirmative and meaningful consent from individuals whose personal information will be gathered through cookies. WP29 is extremely influential in Europe, and increasingly abroad, and marketers and advertisers are advised to pay careful attention to this opinion.  Its format and expertise are a new standard, in our view, and the legal reasoning impeccable.

The 24 page opinion provides a primer on the technologies involved in planting cookies and reading the data. This alone is worth the reading.  In part, in addition to the carefully reasoned option, this well-informed explanation and comprehension of the technology provides an underlying credibility to what is a very sophisticated opinion.

For a complete analysis of the opinion and what it means for ad networks, website owners (“publishers of the ads”), marketers, and, of all things, browser software companies, read the exhaustive analysis of the opinion in the forthcoming June edition of The Prescott Report.