Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to publish draft regulations under the powers granted in section 6A of the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 to set out new exemptions to the prohibition on storing or accessing information in terminal equipment under section 6(1); and what is the extent of the involvement of the Information Commissioner's Office in drafting those regulations.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The government is actively considering what exceptions could be made to regulation 6, and we shall update the House in due course.
Any regulations would be developed and drafted by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) will publish recommendations for the government on this issue. The Government will consult the ICO and other interested stakeholders on the development of any regulations, as we are legally required to by the provisions in section 112(3) of the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025.
Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Information Commissioner's Office about the evidential basis for commercially viable models of contextual advertising that do not require user consent.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Throughout the project looking into new exemptions to regulation 6 of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (described in previous answers HL12548), we have we regularly meet with the ICO to discuss the evidence they are gathering. This includes evidence from technical experts and industry representatives.
The ICO will make recommendations to the government next year about this matter and we will consider those recommendations and the evidence supporting them.
Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to allowing the use of pseudonymised data for personalised advertising, provided that data sharing is limited to processors, retained only for necessary periods, and subject to robust privacy safeguards.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
As noted in the answer to HL12548, HL12549, HL12551, the Government is currently exploring options for additional exemptions to the cookie consent rules in the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations. It will consider the Information Commisisoner’s Office’s recommendations in this area carefully in due course.
Officials have met with the Professional Publishers Association and other trade associations to discuss how this work could support online advertisers, whilst preserving high standards of privacy for web users. The government will undertake further engagement with relevant stakeholders to consider the impact and design of any new proposals before deciding how to proceed.
Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to meet the Professional Publishers Association to discuss the impact of the Information Commissioner's Office's proposed regulatory approach to online advertising on the publishing sector.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
As noted in the answer to HL12548, HL12549, HL12551, the Government is currently exploring options for additional exemptions to the cookie consent rules in the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations. It will consider the Information Commisisoner’s Office’s recommendations in this area carefully in due course.
Officials have met with the Professional Publishers Association and other trade associations to discuss how this work could support online advertisers, whilst preserving high standards of privacy for web users. The government will undertake further engagement with relevant stakeholders to consider the impact and design of any new proposals before deciding how to proceed.
Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that data protection regulation supports innovation and competitiveness in the UK's digital publishing and advertising markets.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
As noted in the answer to HL12548, HL12549, HL12551, the Government is currently exploring options for additional exemptions to the cookie consent rules in the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations. It will consider the Information Commisisoner’s Office’s recommendations in this area carefully in due course.
Officials have met with the Professional Publishers Association and other trade associations to discuss how this work could support online advertisers, whilst preserving high standards of privacy for web users. The government will undertake further engagement with relevant stakeholders to consider the impact and design of any new proposals before deciding how to proceed.
Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have asked the Information Commissioner's Office to assess the relative economic and privacy impacts of (1) contextual, and (2) personalised, advertising models.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
As noted in the answer to HL12548, HL12549, HL12551, the Government is currently exploring options for additional exemptions to the cookie consent rules in the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations. It will consider the Information Commisisoner’s Office’s recommendations in this area carefully in due course.
Officials have met with the Professional Publishers Association and other trade associations to discuss how this work could support online advertisers, whilst preserving high standards of privacy for web users. The government will undertake further engagement with relevant stakeholders to consider the impact and design of any new proposals before deciding how to proceed.
Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to use powers under the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 to extend consent requirement exemptions under regulation 6 of the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 for low-risk uses of pseudonymised data.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) require online advertisers to seek consent to place cookies (and similar technologies) on users’ devices. But certain uses of cookies are a lower risk to privacy than others, and privacy enhancing techniques such as pseudonymisation can further reduce risk. As part of the Data (Use and Access) Bill this government introduced reforms to PECR that enabled more than £17m annually in compliance savings. The government is working with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), industry, and others to assess whether new exemptions under PECR could be used to promote growth and innovation in the advertising, creative, and publishing industries while maintaining high privacy standards for users.
Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the UK's data protection framework supports the long-term viability of advertising-funded creative and editorial content.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) require online advertisers to seek consent to place cookies (and similar technologies) on users’ devices. But certain uses of cookies are a lower risk to privacy than others, and privacy enhancing techniques such as pseudonymisation can further reduce risk. As part of the Data (Use and Access) Bill this government introduced reforms to PECR that enabled more than £17m annually in compliance savings. The government is working with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), industry, and others to assess whether new exemptions under PECR could be used to promote growth and innovation in the advertising, creative, and publishing industries while maintaining high privacy standards for users.
Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made an assessment of the impact of restrictions on the use of pseudonymised data for personalised advertising on the financial sustainability of UK publishers.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) require online advertisers to seek consent to place cookies (and similar technologies) on users’ devices. But certain uses of cookies are a lower risk to privacy than others, and privacy enhancing techniques such as pseudonymisation can further reduce risk. As part of the Data (Use and Access) Bill this government introduced reforms to PECR that enabled more than £17m annually in compliance savings. The government is working with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), industry, and others to assess whether new exemptions under PECR could be used to promote growth and innovation in the advertising, creative, and publishing industries while maintaining high privacy standards for users.
Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential economic impact of the Information Commissioner's Office's proposed regulatory approach to online advertising on the publishing sector.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
This Government recognises the importance of supporting the growth of the UK’s publishing sector - one of our most successful and long-standing creative industries.
We welcome the Information Commisisoner’s Office’s (ICO) work in this area. The ICO are currently examining whether additional exceptions to the cookies consent requirements in the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 could be made to support online advertising while maintaining users’ privacy standards. We will be considering the ICO’s recommendations, and their potential impact, carefully in due course.