ACTION-267 - Propose first/third party definitions from existing DAA documents

Folks - As promised, I am submitting the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) definitions of "first party" and "third party" for consideration / inclusion in section 3.5<http://www.w3.org/2011/tracking-protection/drafts/tracking-compliance.html#first-third-parties> ("First and Third Parties") of the W3C TPWG "Tracking Compliance and Scope" document.  Below are both formal definitions and related commentary from the DAA Self-Regulatory Principles for Multi-Site Data<https://www.aboutads.info/resource/download/Multi-Site-Data-Principles.pdf>.


FIRST PARTY


Definition: A First Party is the entity that is the owner of the Web site or has Control over the Web site with which the consumer interacts and its Affiliates.

Commentary: The actions of agents and other entities that similarly perform business operations of First Parties are treated as if they stand in the shoes of First Parties under these Principles and thus such actions are not included in Multi-Site Data.



THIRD PARTY


Definition: An entity is a Third Party to the extent that it collects Multi-Site Data on a non-Affiliate's Web site.

Commentary:  As described in the OBA Principles, in certain situations where it is clear that the consumer is interacting with a portion of a Web site that is being operated by a different entity than the owner of the Web site, the different entity would not be a Third Party for purposes of the Principles, because the consumer would reasonably understand the nature of the direct interaction with that entity. The situation where this occurs most frequently today is where an entity through a "widget" or "video player" enables content on a Web site and it is clear that such content and that portion of the Web sites is provided by the other entity and not the First Party Web site. The other entity (e.g. the "widget" or "video player") is directly interacting with the consumer and, from the consumer's perspective, acting as a First Party. Thus, it is unnecessary to apply to these activities the Principles governing data collection and use by Third Parties with which the consumer is not directly interacting.

Very best,
Rachel

Rachel Nyswander Thomas
Vice President, Government Affairs
Direct Marketing Association
(202) 861-2443 office
(202) 560-2335 cell
rthomas@the-dma.org<mailto:rthomas@the-dma.org>

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