The match between Twitter and the CNIL

Data allows a large majority of platforms and websites to generate advertising revenue as the basis of their business model. And there is a body in charge of regulating the subject: the CNIL. The task is hard, many actors (mainly foreign) refuse to comply with the regulation.

Hey you! 

At the beginning of the year, the CNIL (Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés) obliged platforms and websites to allow users to express their refusal regarding cookies and the processing of some of their data. Between practice and reality, however, a gap has opened up. For a long time, platforms chose to ignore this change. Google, Facebook… This era seems to be coming to an end. Twitter has just taken the plunge. Let’s take a look at the changes implemented in the last few weeks.

The consent proposed on the first page of the platform

When arriving on the platform, it is now possible for some users to choose between two options: “Accept all cookies” or “Refuse all cookies that are not necessary”. A change that seems minor, yet has a phenomenal impact. Some users can now refuse the use of these data from the first level of navigation. So why hasn’t this adjustment been deployed for everyone? For the moment, no feedback from the platform. Is the feature being tested before it can be made available to everyone? This is something we’ll be watching closely.

Uneven data management

Since this new recommendation from the CNIL, the vast majority of French companies have implemented the necessary adjustments to remain in compliance. Yes, 86% of French sites are in compliance with the CNIL. However, it’s a bit different for their American competitors (Google, Facebook, Amazon, Tiktok, etc…). Only 16% of them were in compliance, in June 2021. A big contrast. The reason? A good part of them have thus freed themselves from the new rules, by playing on the fact that they are not directly governed by French law.

Cookies, a key element for advertising

This difference in adaptation creates tensions. Indeed, cookies are essential elements for advertising. They allow the collection of a wide range of data about users and thus generate revenues by selling advertising space to partners. It is one of the pillars of the economic models of a large number of sites and platforms. 

The CNIL promises to crack down in the coming months

The organization has the possibility to pronounce sanctions of up to 2% of the company’s turnover. This is the privacy directive. And precisely, last September, the CNIL revealed that it had given formal notice to more than forty organizations managing sites with high traffic and having practices contrary to the legislation on cookies. Most of them reacted immediately by complying with the CNIL rules. Some have requested additional time to implement the necessary actions, while others have chosen not to give any response. All indications are that these sanctions should be multiplied in the future, hoping that one day it will no longer be necessary to chase after companies that do not respect privacy rules.