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Online tracking strategy update - July 2025

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Latest updates - 04 July 2025

07 July 2025 - this progress update was published.

Make it easier for publishers to adopt more privacy-friendly forms of online advertising 

We’re working with industry and other stakeholders to support the development of commercially viable privacy-preserving advertising models that respect people’s rights. 

Today (7 July), we launched a call for views on proposals to relax our enforcement approach where the use of storage and access technologies for advertising poses demonstrably low privacy risks. 

The feedback will inform a formal statement, due in January 2026, setting out the advertising practices unlikely to trigger enforcement action under PECR, and the safeguards we would expect to see in place to protect people’s privacy.    

Ensure publishers give people meaningful control over how they are tracked on websites 

In January, we committed to reviewing cookie banners on the UK’s 1,000 most visited websites. We have now written to all sites and are assessing their responses against our compliance criteria. Enforcement action will follow where practices do not comply with the law. 

We have also engaged trade bodies representing the sectors most heavily featured in the top 1,000. Many are now working with us to raise awareness among their members and support improvements. We will continue to monitor compliance and re-engage where necessary.

Ensure that people have meaningful control over tracking for personalised advertising on apps and connected TVs 

We are working to ensure that smart product manufacturers and developers take a data protection by design approach and seek consent if using storage and access technologies for online advertising purposes. 

Our draft guidance for consumer Internet of Things (IoT) products and services is currently open for consultation. We welcome views from manufacturers, developers and other stakeholders to ensure the final guidance is practical and effective. 

Confirm how publishers can deploy ‘consent or pay’ models in line with data protection law, supporting their economic viability 

In January we published guidance on ‘consent or pay’ models, following a call for views in 2024. The guidance clarifies how publishers can deploy these models to give people meaningful control over online tracking while supporting their economic viability. We will continue to engage with publishers to ensure that people’s information rights are upheld. 

Provide industry with clarity on the requirements of data protection law, leaving no excuse for non-compliance 

We want to provide businesses with clarity on the law, especially when things change. We have today (7 July) gone out to consultation on proposed updates to our storage and access technologies guidance following the passing of the Data (Use and Access) Act into law. Once we have considered the feedback, alongside the results of our previous consultation, we will publish final guidance. 

We are continuing to work with the online advertising industry and wider stakeholders on developing a certification scheme to enable organisations to show they are processing personal information in compliance with the law. 

Investigate compliance failures in the wider adtech ecosystem 

We want to ensure that people can easily withdraw their consent from all organisations with which their personal information has been shared within the adtech ecosystem. 

Since January, we’ve engaged with the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Tech Lab on its Data Deletion Request Framework.  We believe that the specification could improve how deletion and withdrawal requests are handled by third party organisations that facilitate the delivery of digital ads and encourage its implementation

Support the public to take control of how they are tracked online 

We are preparing new guidance to help people understand and control the use of their information online. In the meantime, we have shared advice on making privacy-conscious choices when buying and setting up smart products

We also continue to include questions on online tracking in our public research to better understand public sentiment and ensure our approach reflects people’s expectations.