In September last year I submitted a response to the ICO consultation on their approach to regulation of online advertising.
Today I got an email from the ICO's interim Group Manager - Online Tracking:
Thank you for your response to the ICO’s call for views on our approach to regulating online advertising last year.
I am writing to let you know that today we have published the outcomes of our review of regulation 6 PECR requirements for online advertising purposes.
Please see a blog from Executive Director for Regulatory Risk and Innovation, William Malcolm, with an overview of the work: Our advice to government on potential changes to online advertising rules | ICO
We have also published:
- The letter from William Malcolm to Rt Hon Ian Murray MP and Lord Livermore: Economic growth commitment update
- The advice for DSIT on a viable approach to creating online advertising exception(s) to regulation 6 PECR: ICO report for DSIT
- The summary of responses to the call for views: Summary of responses to call for views
- Findings from our citizens’ juries on new routes to viable online advertising: Citizens’ Juries on New Routes to Viable Online Advertising
- A cost-benefit analysis: Cost-benefit analysis - advice on viable approach to creating online advertising exceptions to regulation 6 PECR
Separately, you may be interested in the progress update on our Online Tracking Strategy, published in April: Online tracking strategy update – April 2026 | ICO
Many thanks again for your input to this work.
Let me quote from just one of the documents linked, the ICO report for DSIT: Advice on a viable approach to creating online advertising exception(s) to regulation 6 PECR, Section 6, page 29:
"Our proposed approach would offer a new way to deliver online advertising without consent. It wouldn’t revolutionise the ecosystem, but it would provide a way to provide publishers with new revenue opportunities for users who they currently can’t legally deliver any online advertising to, because they don’t grant consent."
The UK data protection authority is proposing to government "a new way to deliver online advertising without consent."
As the Open Rights Group said recently,
Your data is precious. It reveals who you are, what you like, where you live and much more. Lots of people and organisations want to get their hands on it – including governments who want to track us, companies that want to profit from us and criminals who want to steal from us.
This is why we need strong data protection laws and a strong regulator who will make sure they are followed.
In the UK, this regulator is the Information Commissioner's Office's (ICO) and they are failing to to protect our data privacy.
Sign the petition for a reset of the ICO.
