Targeting in social networks. Part 3

To ensure the transparency and legality of targeting in social networks, each owner of the resource must post on the site legal documents that correspond to a specific business. In different countries, this issue is regulated by different laws or regulations.

What documents are required for transparency and legality of targeting in different countries?

Privacy notice

Privacy notice (can be found under the name privacy policy) - a document addressed to users and which indicates how personal data is processed (what personal data is processed, for what purposes, to whom it can be transferred, from what sources it is obtained):

The European Union – privacy notice is a mandatory document. The requirements for the content of the privacy notice are provided for in Articles 12-14 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR);
Great Britain - privacy notice is governed by The Data Protection Act;
USA - there is no single federal law, different laws regulate (CalOPPA - The California Online Privacy Protection Act, COPPA - Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, HIPAA - Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act);
South and Central America - you can view each country separately here;
Canada – privacy notice governed by the Personal Information and Electronic Documents Protection Act (PIPEDA);
Australia - Privacy Act 1988 (APA);
Asia-Pacific region - you can view each country separately here;
Africa - Data Protection and Privacy Act.

Terms of use

Terms of use – rules for using the service, which regulate the relationship between the user and the owner of the service (the presence of such rules is not mandatory). The procedure for collecting personal data of users and working with them can also be specified here (but best practice is a separate “privacy notice” document).

Terms of Use (terms of use) are rules that you are asked to agree to before using any services, in other words, Terms of Use is a legally binding agreement between an Internet resource and a user.

The Terms of Use may be named in different ways, such as: "terms of use", "terms of use", "rules of use", "terms of service" or simply "terms".

The terms of use may have different content, depending on the specifics of the site and the field in which the organization is involved. Also, the country where the resource is created or operates and the location of the users is important.

‍acceptable use policy,
rules of international use and compliance,
user account rules,
website modification information,
support or maintenance,
privacy,
site owner rights and ownership,
disclaimers,
termination and change of access, etc.

Terms of Use - a mandatory document that must be used to regulate the relationship between the site owner and its users, as well as reflect all the rules for using the resource. Correctly written "Rules of Use of the site" will help it, first of all, to be clear and transparent for users.

Cookies policy

Cookies policy - informing users about cookies and other tracking technologies on the service (what types of cookies are installed, how long they remain in the user's web browser (session, permanent, etc.), what user data they track, categories of personal information collected, with for what purpose, where the data is sent and to whom it is provided, how to reject cookies):

‍The European Union - cookies policy is a mandatory document. The ePrivacy Directive and GDPR set the rules for how companies request and receive consent for cookies.
United Kingdom – The Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) and The Data Protection Act;
USA - consent to cookies is not required in most states. But there is the California Internet Privacy Protection Act (CalOPPA), which, while requiring websites to inform users about the use of cookies, does not require consent to cookies;
Canada - Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), Canada Anti-Spam Law (CASL) do not require consent to cookies if the user is provided with adequate information and an opt-out process;
South and Central America - Privacy laws in South and Central America do not mention cookies, but require the collection of personal data with express consent. However, the Federal Law on the Protection of Personal Data in Mexico requires consent to cookies and full notification of cookies;
Africa - EU legislation is mostly reflected, for example the Nigerian Data Protection Regulation 2019 and South Africa's Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) regulate the use of cookies as they are "online identifiers", qualify as personal data covered by the instructions regarding consent to cookies;
Asia - There are many data privacy laws, but many of them do not mention the use of cookies. For example, Japan's Personal Information Protection Act (APPI) requires consent to the transfer of personal data, but not to its collection. Thus, the collection of data by cookies may not require consent to cookies, but may require disclosure in the Privacy Notice;
Australia - The Privacy Act 1988 (APA) does not make direct reference to the use of cookies. However, the Office of the Australia Commissioner has indicated that if a cookie file identifies an individual, it may be classified as personal data. Therefore, it would be advisable to have a message about cookies explaining the function of cookies on the site. However, there are no instructions regarding consent to cookies.

A few words should be said about different types of targeting. There are still:

‍Selection of advertising sites. The most popular type of targeting. The selection of advertising platforms ensures that their visitors correspond to the target audience.
Thematic targeting. Showing ads on websites that match a certain topic.
Interest targeting. Display of advertisements in accordance with the interests of visitors to the advertising platform.
Geotargeting. Showing ads to a target audience limited to some geographic region chosen by the advertiser.
Local targeting. Showing advertising to the target audience within a radius of 900 meters to 15 kilometers.
Targeting by display time (morning or evening, weekdays or weekends). Allows you to limit the display of advertisements by time during the day, week, year.
Socio-demographic targeting - by age, gender, income, position, etc.
Behavioral targeting. Its essence boils down to the implementation of a mechanism for collecting information about the user's actions on the Internet using cookies. The information is collected in so-called profiles and includes data about viewed sites, searches, purchases in online stores, etc.

But, regardless of which targeting you choose, which country you work in, which business you are engaged in, the main thing is to ensure the transparency and legality of any action or offer on the network, as well as to protect the user's privacy and ensure the protection of his personal data.

If you have any questions about social media targeting, you can contact us. We will help make your online business legal, transparent and trustworthy.