European publishers say the Digital Omnibus 'cookie fix' leaves them worse off

"Several have described the Omnibus as nothing deeper than a "cosmetic" attempt to fix the complex rules around how to gain consumer consent for digital tracking needed to sustain digital businesses. Many are still trying to understand what the Omnibus actually means for them. (Spoiler: it apparently means nothing more than your job may actually get harder). But it's clear that those who have managed to ingest the detail (all 153 pages of it) see little that can help publishers move the needle."

""I don't see that we - publishers - are getting anything out of the Omnibus, and even less in the way of 'simplification' which is the stated purpose for revising the rulebook," said Iacob Gammeltoft, senior policy manager at News Media Europe, an association that represents over 2,700 news brands across Europe. Instead, a bunch of new rules have been added and publishers are now startlingly "worse off" than before, he stressed."

"One of the most worrying factors: Under the Digital Omnibus proposal, users can set their tracking and cookie permissions once, directly in their browser or device settings - so in Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or on iOS/Android. That's a mega red flag for publishers that rely on consent-driven data to sell ads, measure performance and fund free content. Here are two parts of the Digital Omnibus' plans that have frustrated and confused publishers:"

The Digital Omnibus was released on Nov. 19. The proposal was presented as a chance to simplify Europe's data privacy rules but instead added new, complex requirements. Publishers report that the Omnibus provides little practical relief and complicates consent mechanisms used to sustain ad-funded businesses. Many publishers are still parsing the 153-page text and conclude it worsens operational and revenue challenges rather than alleviating them. New requirements and the option for users to set tracking and cookie permissions once in browser or device settings raise significant concerns for publishers that depend on consent-driven data to sell ads, measure performance and fund free content.

Read at Digiday