Disclaimer

The information provided in this article is for general informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. While we strive to provide accurate and up-to-date information, laws and regulations can change, and the application of the law can vary based on individual circumstances. Therefore, you should not rely solely on the content of this article for making legal decisions. If you have any questions or concerns regarding your specific legal situation, we strongly recommend that you consult with a qualified attorney or legal professional who can provide personalized advice tailored to your needs.

Introduction

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has stated that affiliate cookies may be deemed "strictly necessary" for loyalty publishers to track purchases and provide cash back or points on completed purchases. This means these cookies could be exempt from user consent under the UK Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR), provided they are essential for the service. This could impact you if you sell to or serve customers in the UK, regardless of your own location.

Our loyalty exemption signal solution consists of a ranLoyalty=1 parameter we append to loyalty publishers' traffic to indicate to advertisers' websites that the user they referred is a loyalty customer who expects cash back or rewards on purchases made. When the loyalty exemption signal is present, consent for affiliate cookies should not be required, per the ICO's guidance on "strictly necessary" consent exemptions to the PERC.

This simple, standardized implementation allows you and your enabled advertiser partners to provide the smoothest online experience for your mutual customers.

How It Works

1. Rakuten Advertising appends the ranLoyalty=1 parameter to the landing page URLs of your affiliate links.
2. The advertiser's website logic reads the ranLoyalty=1 URL parameter and sets "strictly necessary" affiliate cookies immediately before their consent prompt.
3. The advertiser's Consent Management Platform prompts the user for non-essential cookie consent.
4. The user completes their order on the advertiser's website.
5. You deliver rewards and cash back as expected.

Next Steps

Contact your publisher manager or Customer Support to request that the loyalty exemption signal be enabled for your program.