Sourcepoint’s "Vendor Trace"—a game-changer for brands and marketers to comply with privacy regulations

Published: March 15, 2023

.
4
min read

The data privacy software company Sourcepoint has recently launched a tool called Vendor Trace. It provides a simple way for publishers and brands to monitor downstream vendor behavior on their websites.

Vendor Trace is a searchable, interactive flowchart that is part of Sourcepoint's consent management platform. Customers can use it to pinpoint and isolate vulnerabilities in third-party marketing and advertising technologies.

Vendor Trace is the market's first tool that enables users to visualize the chain of vendor referrals and implement privacy compliance filters. The flowchart can be used to demonstrate which vendors are triggering a high volume of redirects or are not respecting CMP preferences.

Product and privacy teams are already overburdened when it comes to compliance. Vendor Trace is designed to make vendor governance and compliance programs more efficient.

Frances Hudson,

VP of Product at Sourcepoint

Users can add consent action filters to the vendor map, such as "Accept All" or "No Opt-Out." Customers can also use the Diagnose vendor monitoring dashboard to apply compliance filters to identify which vendors are triggering unauthorised scripts, performing possible fingerprinting, firing without consent, or storing consumer data.

With the release of Vendor Trace, Sourcepoint customers can easily perform due diligence by determining the source of all unauthorised cookies, pixels, and tags. Customers can ensure adequate consent measures or commercial terms are in place once all unauthorised scripts have been identified and evaluated.

According to Julie Rubash, Chief Privacy Counsel at Sourcepoint, "Respecting user privacy and regulatory requirements necessitates the collaboration of the entire ecosystem." The monitoring tool, Vendor Trace, provides necessary checks and balances on downstream processing."

How can "Vendor Trace" benefit marketers?

With the spike in stringent privacy regulations, it has become crucial for brands to ensure appropriate data security measures are in place. A tool like Vendor Trace is completely novel in this landscape and can be hugely beneficial for marketers to stay on track with privacy standards.

Simplify the fix with a partner:

Earlier, it had been gruelling for brands and marketers to communicate to vendors that their source was the reason for the privacy violations. But since vendor trace provides a clear flowchart of how vendors respect the user’s choices, it can possibly become simple and easy for brands to isolate the sources that violate the privacy regulations.

For instance, if a user on the website chooses not to sell their personal information, the vendor will get triggered. And, using the flowchart, the brand can see both the users’ and vendors' responses. As a result, brands can utilize the flowchart as evidence for vendors if any privacy violations happen midway. This way, the new tool can simplify the fix for marketers and brands.

Maintain brand image:

Be it bigger or smaller brands, it is important to keep an eye on vendors' behavior on their websites to prevent sensitive information from being misused or stolen. Otherwise, it may cause distrust among their audiences.

Let's presume one of the website visitors shares personal information with the brand. And the brand promises to use that information only for promoting their products. But if a customer is bombarded by various ads, marketing calls, and so on, it will outright make them less motivated to visit the website. Now, a tool like vendor trace can help brands protect themselves from these vulnerabilities by keeping the vendors’ activity trackable and making the path secure for users.

Stay protected from the expensive consequences of privacy violations:

With privacy violations comes a significant monetary penalty in addition to reputational harm. The penalty amount varies depending on the act.

California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) violations can result in civil penalties of up to $7,500 per violation. To emphasize the booming number of data breaches and non-compliance around data security, GDPR has recently spiked its penalty amount. To put it straight, serious violations of GDPR can even go up to 20 million euros.

It is indeed becoming challenging for brands to survive successfully in this privacy-centric world. As the Sourcepoint’s novel solution brings transparency to this space, brands can easily avoid becoming embroiled in legal controversies and stay protected from expensive consequences.

Simply put, we believe vendor trace can be a game-changing tool for brands. It can ease the daunting process of navigating the privacy regulations by streamlining the pathway to abide by stringent privacy laws and regulations.

Author

Pete Johnson

Pete is a MarTech expert guru with a knack for getting diverse MarTech solutions work for brands. He has a wealth of experience in working with a plethora of MarTech platforms that dive Personalized Omnichannel Experiences. When he's not at work, you can find him playing basketball or listening to jazz.

Comments

Be the first one to comment.

Follow Us

Related Articles

Recent posts

The subscriber's email address.