The EU e-Privacy directive and the online publishing industry

Currently, I am completing the Chartered Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing at CIM and I had to write a discussion paper on an emerging theme.

I chose “The EU e-Privacy directive’s impact on the online publishing industry, considering the emerging consumer theme of carefree to careful”.

Below is the Abstract of my paper

The amended EU ePrivacy “cookie” directive, is not really about cookies, it is about “tracking, transparency and trust”. 

This directive is also not going against, or even trying to stifle the “new competitive principles, of openness, peering, sharing and acting global". It is actually moving the EU online economy closer to realizing these principles,however it requires companies to act transparently and give choice and control to consumers. 

As consumers move from a “carefree to careful” attitude online, online publishers may find that engaging more ethically with consumers transforms this industry and its business models by re-engineering the customer experience. 

As a result, online consumers are more likely to trust EU sites, because they are being more transparent, open and respecting consumer choice and therefore building trust. 

As long as the industry responds, in an ethically responsible and consumer focused way, the cookie will live on, but will be seen in a more innocuous and palatable format [like its original motivation to enhance the user’s web experience]. Online publishers may find these same consumers more willing to pay for content as a result.

If you would like to read a full version of this paper, just tweet me at @claireipowell and as long as you are not a CIM candidate, I will be happy to forward it to you in PDF.