ADTECH PRIVACY & REGULATION
Adtech has always relied on data to work its magic. But as consumers become more aware of how their data is used and regulators step in, privacy has become one of the biggest forces shaping the future of digital advertising.
Privacy is a fundamental part of how advertising is planned, executed, and measured.
Here’s what you need to know about the history of privacy regulations and what matters for 2026.
The adtech privacy wake-up call
For decades, digital advertising operated largely behind the scenes: third-party cookies tracked behaviour across sites, data flowed freely between adtech vendors, and consumers often had little idea how or why they were being targeted. That lack of visibility began to change in the late 2010s as high-profile data scandals grabbed global headlines and put consumer privacy on the agenda. The most notable of these was the the Facebook–Cambridge Analytica case, in which data from up to 87 million users was harvested without meaningful consent.
At the same time, consumer concern over data use soared; polls have shown that around 86% of people view data privacy as a growing issue, and more than half fear their information is being sold without their understanding. Regulators responded with sweeping laws like the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in 2018 and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in 2020, which forced companies to obtain explicit consent for data collection and introduced heavy fines for non-compliance.
These changes introduced new legal requirements, shifting the adtech landscape completely. Third-party cookies were the backbone of behavioural targeting, but are since are being phased out by major browsers, forcing adtech to move toward privacy-first approaches like first-party data and contextual advertising. By early 2025, GDPR-related fines had totalled billions of euros, including landmark penalties against major platforms for privacy breaches.
This wave of scrutiny and enforcement has transformed how data is collected, used and regulated in digital advertising, and remains one of the biggest forces shaping adtech today.
Adtech privacy regulations to know about in 2026
The modern privacy landscape is shaped by a handful of major regulations that affect how adtech works globally. Here's a breakdown of what matters in the year ahead!
1. GDPR
GDPR, or General Data Protection Regulation, governs how personal data is collected, stored, and used across the UK and EU. It requires clear consent, limits how long data can be retained, and gives users the right to access or delete their data.
Europe’s landmark data privacy law went into effect in May 2018 and still shapes how adtech operates across the UK and EU. Under GDPR, companies must obtain explicit, informed consent before collecting or processing personal data, and users have rights to access, correct, or delete their information, forcing adtech vendors and advertisers to be far more transparent about data use.
GDPR also imposes heavy penalties for non-compliance: up to €20 million or 4 % of global annual revenue, whichever is higher. This has made data protection a top priority for adtech companies and global platforms alike. GDPR’s emphasis on consent and data minimisation has directly contributed to the decline of third-party cookie reliance and accelerated a shift toward privacy-centric targeting methods.
For adtech, this means targeting and measurement must be built around transparency and consent, rather than assumption.
2. CCPA & CPRA
In the United States, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and its successor, the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), give California residents the right to know what personal data is collected about them, request deletion, and opt out of the sale or sharing of their data. These laws were designed in part as a U.S. counterpart to GDPR, providing stronger consumer privacy protections and setting a precedent for other states.
CCPA/CPRA compliance has pushed many global adtech platforms to implement broader privacy controls, such as universal opt-out signals, rather than building separate solutions just for Californian users. This has effectively raised the bar for privacy practices across the U.S. digital advertising ecosystem, with at least 19 states poised to introduce similar privacy laws in the coming years, collectively covering most of the world’s GDP through comprehensive regulation.
3. Consent Management
Consent Management Platforms (CMPs) collect, store, and communicate user permissions across websites and adtech partners. Without valid consent signals, many forms of targeting and measurement simply can’t happen.
In today’s privacy landscape, consent is the foundation of how user data can be collected and used for advertising. CMPs are the tools publishers and advertisers use to display consent notices, record user preferences, and pass consent signals downstream to every adtech partner involved in a bid request. Without valid consent and mechanisms to honour opt-outs in real time, many forms of targeted advertising simply cannot run legally or ethically.
Showing a cookie banner does not automatically make for good consent management. Granular choice, clear opt-in/opt-out options, and persistent tracking of user decisions across devices and vendors are key requirements. Bad or hidden consent flows can reduce opt-in rates by 30-40 %, directly impacting the quality of audience data and campaign performance.
Life after third-party cookies
Perhaps the most seismic shift in adtech privacy has been the decline of third-party cookies, tiny identifiers previously used to track users across websites for targeting and attribution. Major browsers like Safari and Firefox have already blocked third-party cookies by default for years, and initiatives such as Google’s Privacy Sandbox aim to replace them with privacy-preserving alternatives. Even though timelines have shifted, the industry consensus is that advertising that relies on cross-site tracking is being phased out in favour of consent-friendly methods.
This cookie phase-out changes more than just targeting. It affects frequency capping, audience retargeting, attribution models, and many legacy identity systems that depend on persistent third-party identifiers. Advertisers, publishers, and adtech vendors are now investing in new approaches that prioritise privacy while maintaining relevance and measurement.
First-party data takes centre stage
First-party data, which is information collected directly by brands and publishers from their own users, has become the most valuable asset in advertising. This includes data from email sign-ups, loyalty programmes, logged-in sessions, purchase histories, and CRM systems. These consented signals are privacy-friendly and highly reliable because users intentionally engage with the brand, making them ideal for targeting and personalised experiences.
First-party data not only improves relevance but also reduces dependency on external identifiers, meaning advertisers can continue to reach audiences with consent-based precision and strong privacy alignment.
Contextual targeting makes a comeback
As behavioural tracking becomes more restricted, contextual targeting has re-emerged as an effective alternative. Instead of targeting people by building profiles of individuals, contextual advertising targets content. Contextual ads match creative to the subject of the content a user is consuming (e.g. placing travel ads on travel articles). This approach delivers relevance without collecting personal data, aligning with both privacy regulations and rising consumer expectations around data use.
Modern contextual systems, often powered by AI, can even interpret nuances in content to ensure ads match intent and context, making them competitive with cookie-based approaches without the privacy trade-offs.
Measurement in a privacy-first world
Privacy regulations don’t just affect targeting, they also make success measurement harder too. Without cookies to follow users across sites or device-level tracking, advertisers must rely on aggregated data, modelled conversions, and incrementality testing to understand what’s working. This shift prioritises trends and outcomes over individual user journeys.
Focusing on trends and outcomes has benefits, helping marketers answer broader questions like “did this campaign grow overall sales?” rather than “which exact click caused this conversion?” These methods respect privacy while still allowing meaningful insights into campaign effectiveness.
What privacy means for the future of adtech
Privacy isn’t a blocker, despite how it might look. Respecting user and consumer privacy instead leads to leaps and bounds in innovation that may not otherwise have been made. The most successful adtech solutions in 2026 and beyond will:
- Minimise data collection, gathering only what’s essential with clear consent
- Be transparent by design, giving users control over their data
- Leverage consented first-party relationships to deliver value
- Balance performance with trust, using privacy-aligned measurement and targeting
Digital advertising is transforming into a more responsible, transparent, and user-centric ecosystem that thrives on trust and consent rather than covert tracking.
What's next?
To understand how targeting, measurement and identity are adapting in a privacy-first world, explore more in our Adtech Uni.
Adtech Glossary
If you have more buzzwords, acronyms and techie know-how you need to break down, you can check out our adtech glossary below – 150+ adtech terms explained in layman's terms!
Adtech Basics
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Measuring Success
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Sustainability
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The Future of Adtech
From AI to Connected TV and retail media, adtech is always evolving fast. Get a quick look at the trends that have been shaping the future of digital advertising across the past few years.
FAQ
Q: What are the key adtech privacy regulations in the UK?
A: GDPR governs personal data use across the UK and EU, while UK-specific guidelines follow similar principles. Compliance is essential for consented and transparent advertising.
Q: How is the CCPA relevant in Europe?
A: While CCPA primarily covers California, its influence shapes global adtech practices, encouraging brands to adopt consent-first policies across all regions, including the UK.
Q: What is a Consent Management Platform (CMP)?
A: CMPs collect, store and manage user consent for advertising data. UK publishers use CMPs to ensure GDPR compliance and maintain audience trust.
Q: How are third-party cookies affecting UK adtech?
A: Browsers are phasing out third-party cookies, prompting UK and EU advertisers to focus on first-party data, contextual targeting and privacy-safe measurement.
Additional Reading
"Adtech: A Short History"
A brief look at the history of adtech, from advertising's ancient origins to the innovations of the modern day.
"A Newcomer's Guide to Multichannel Advertising"
Our nuts-and-bolts channel guide for those starting out in the business, complete with conversation starters to get you networking!
"What is an Adtech Stack, and How Should You Go About Building One?"
What is the elusive entity that houses the acronyms, platforms and solutions that enable brands, advertisers and publishers to engage in advanced digital advertising?
"A Short History of AI: Could AI be Brilliant?"
It is sobering to consider that the concept of artificial intelligence is actually older than rock & roll. But unlike rock & roll, AI’s peak years unmistakably lie ahead.
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