GPC and UOOMS: Do Consumers Want an On/Off Switch or a Dimmer?

Andy Hepburn is the Co-founder of NEOLAW LLC and General Counsel at SafeGuard Privacy. He is a privacy lawyer with deep experience helping clients in the digital advertising industry navigate complex privacy laws.

In this episode…

Global Privacy Control (GPC) is transforming the way companies approach consumer consent. The rise of state privacy laws has fueled an explosion of cookie consent banners and other consent mechanisms that tend to confuse consumers about what they're agreeing to. GPC, also known as a universal opt-out mechanism, offers a simpler alternative by allowing consumers to set their privacy permissions once for electronic tracking at the browser level. Yet, its current all-or-nothing design raises the question: Does a single switch reflect what consumers really want? 

Some consumers want to block all digital tracking, while others are open to targeted ads in specific situations, like shopping for a car or clothing. Most consumers fall somewhere in between. Earlier attempts, like the Do Not Track initiative, received pushback from the advertising industry, which argued that a simple on/off switch was too limited in capturing the diversity of consumer privacy preferences. A more nuanced approach would let individuals accept targeted ads in some areas while blocking them in others. Industry standards, such as the Interactive Advertising Bureau's Global Privacy Platform and the Multi-State Privacy Agreement, are designed to help companies ensure that consumer privacy preferences are consistently applied across publishers, advertisers, and the numerous intermediaries in the ad ecosystem. As consumer pressure and regulatory enforcement actions intensify, this may accelerate the adoption of these standards across various industries. 

In this episode of She Said Privacy/He Said Security, Jodi and Justin Daniels chat with Andy Hepburn, Co-founder of NEOLAW LLC and General Counsel at SafeGuard Privacy, about whether universal opt-out mechanisms meet the needs of today's consumers. Andy explains why a single opt-out switch falls short of consumer needs and what more flexible models could enable. He highlights how industry standards can help companies and their vendors transmit privacy preferences across the ad ecosystem and why adoption will depend on consumer pressure and regulatory enforcement actions. Andy also explores the challenges smaller companies face in meeting privacy compliance requirements and how cooperation among regulators could shape the next phase of privacy enforcement.