A review of the recent technology focussed ESOMAR UK Meet-up

Coalition aims to underline the importance of safeguarding EU audience measurement capabilities to safeguard independent measurement

Brussels, Belgium, June 22, 2017– A new Coalition for Audience Measurement has been established to support European Union lawmakers considering a European Commission proposal to reform its ePrivacy Directive. The Coalition, composed of leading associations representing the audience measurement ecosystem (including producers and buyers), aims to provide informational inputs for lawmakers to increase understanding of the specificities of audience measurement and the added-value it brings to society. The Coalition has adopted its first joint position statement and will likely continue its work throughout the negotiations to adopt a new ePrivacy Regulation.

The Coalition is calling for the European lawmakers to maintain a level playing field between all providers of audience measurement by removing artificial distinctions between so-called first-party and third-party providers and to adopt enabling language that reflects the diversity of service providers who are using audience measurement to inform strategic decisions and improve service delivery to EU citizens.

“When we looked at the first position statements and listened to some of the leading individuals involved in the conversation, we saw a clear need to raise awareness about what audience measurement is, how it operates, the safeguards put in place to ensure it is conducted with appropriate safeguards, and indeed the importance it has in supporting the entire media sector,” said Finn Raben, ESOMAR’s Director General in commenting on the Coalition’s purpose.

EBU Head of European Affairs Nicola Frank said: “Public service media organizations strive to gather data in the most transparent, secure and accountable manner in order to provide the most relevant experience as well as offer the possibility to discover new content. This is why we need a fully-functional data protection framework at EU level which caters for strong end-user privacy and technological feasibility.”

“In the digital age our business models require the transparent and secure use of data. An independent press that serves Europe’s public interest must be able to compete effectively with its global competitors. Audience Measurement is an essential tool for the industry,” said Gerald Grünberger, Chair of WAN-IFRA’s Member Associations Directors Committee.

The Coalition for Audience Measurement intends to work alongside MEPs and representatives of national governments to organise, as appropriate, further consultations and provide briefings involving practitioners. It looks forward to participating actively in the negotiations and provide constructive inputs into the deliberations.

The position statement is available for download here.

If you would like more information about this topic, please contact Kim Smouter at +31-20-664-21-41 or email at public.affairs@esomar.org.

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