TCF Canada and TCF Frameworks 2.0, 2.1, 2.2

What is TCF Canada?

The Transparency and Consent Framework Canada (TCF Canada) is a framework by IAB Canada where technology vendors, agencies, advertisers, and digital marketers can process and enable the receipt of user consent choices in the Canadian markets. TCF Canada provides technical specifications and policy documents to help players in the digital marketing and advertising ecosystem clearly and consistently communicate with end users about how their data is being used, while also providing an opportunity for users to object to and manage their consent preferences. 

I’m a publisher. What do I need to do to support TCF Canada?

To support TCF Canada, you need to use a Consent Management Platform (CMP), which will allow you and and Sharethrough to read and receive user consent signals from the visitors of your digital properties.

Additionally, IAB TCF Canada will be supported via GPP via section 5.

We also recommend reviewing the IAB’s technical specifications for GPP for additional technical details.

What is a Consent Management Platform (CMP)?

A consent management platform (CMP) is a digital tool or system designed to help businesses and websites manage user consent for data collection and processing activities. It enables organizations to obtain explicit consent from users before gathering and utilizing their personal information, ensuring compliance with data protection regulations such as Quebec’s Law 25. CMPs often provide transparency and user-friendly interfaces to enhance the user experience in managing their privacy preferences.

A CMP will pop up as an element on your property and will allow the user to provide the necessary consent.

Do I need to use a CMP?

A Consent Management Platform (CMP) is a necessary tool for managing user consent and complying with data privacy regulations such as the ones in Canada (e.g. Law 25) and IAB’s TCF Canada. A CMP will make it easier for you, the publisher, to allow users to indicate their consent choices to ad tech partners if/as required by applicable privacy regulations in Canada.

Do you recommend a CMP or do you have any recommendations on the type of CMP I should select?

As there are several CMPs available in the market, Sharethrough is unable to make a recommendation that would suit your company’s needs. However, our guidelines below will help you make a more informed decision as you evaluate a CMP that will meet your needs. We also recommend using the following IAB resources to check if the CMP you are evaluating has passed the compliance checks required by IAB for its various programs.

• IAB Canada

• IAB Europe

Guidelines

• Compliance with regulations

  • As privacy regulations are constantly emerging and evolving, it is helpful to consider a CMP that prioritizes staying current with and being adaptable to both applicable regulatory changes and technical changes proposed by the IAB.

• Strong Documentation

  • It is important to consider a CMP that has strong documentation with sufficient technical and other details to help you integrate with the CMP easily.

• Strong Support Team/Technical Teams

  • A partner that is customer-centric in assisting you with any troubleshooting is recommended.

• Ease of Integration

  • A CMP that integrates seamlessly with your website(s), and technology stack as necessary will make your onboarding process smoother as well as prevent incompatibility issues later.

• Captures Comprehensive User Consent

  • A CMP that will allow you to capture different levels/granularity of user consent is useful. In other words, choose a CMP that allows users the ability to choose their preferences for different types of data processing activities, such as personalized advertising, analytics, and third-party data sharing as necessary for the TCF Canada and other frameworks.

Is Sharethrough only supporting the latest version of TCF 2.0, TCF 2.1, and TCF 2.2?

Sharethrough currently supports TCF 2.0, TCF 2.1, and TCF 2.2. The changes imposed by TCF V2.2 predominantly impact CMPs, and how they fetch + display vendor information.   We encourage you to reach out to your CMPs to ensure that they update to TCF v2.2, as soon as possible.

Appendix

A sample CMP popup:

Open