Lord Lucas introduces IAB amendments to the DPDI Bill in the House of Lords

Conservative peer Lord Lucas has introduced IAB-drafted amendments to the DPDI Bill in the House of Lords intended to: 

• Enable cookies to be used for ad measurement and audience measurement on an opt-out basis (so they don’t require prior user consent)
• Create additional safeguards so that if the Government decides in future to implement centralised cookie consent mechanisms, the decision is subject to appropriate checks and balances and greater transparency. For example, requirements to publish an assessment of the impact of these changes on competition and existing laws, before introducing new regulations. We believe these are necessary to minimise the risks of such changes to the digital advertising industry and to the sustainability of the ad-supported internet 

The IAB has also worked to gain support for the amendments from a cross-party group of peers including Baroness Stowell, Lord Clement-Jones, Lord Chandos and Lord Bassam, all of whom spoke in support of the changes we are advocating for in the ‘Grand Committee’ debate on the Bill.  Lord Clement-Jones referenced the IAB directly on several occasions saying that our proposed amendments are “fundamental to advertisers on the internet” and that “centralising cookie consent with browsers could do consumers far more harm than good”. You can watch a video of the debate here or read the transcript.

In line with the protocol for this type of House of Lords Committee, the amendments were not voted on at this stage. They will be reconsidered at the next stage, known as ‘Report’, expected to take place in May or June (dates are yet to be confirmed). In the meantime, Government Ministers responsible for the DPDI Bill have agreed to further meetings which the IAB will be part of to discuss the points raised.