The European Court of Justice's Russmedia ruling (C-492/23) has ended a core liability privilege that publishers and platforms have relied on for over 25 years. Platforms and publishers, together with advertisers, agencies, and other ad tech providers, are now jointly responsible for advertisements– with significant implications.
Publishers and platforms must now verify the identity of advertisers before serving any ad and assess whether personal data allows inferences about Article 9 categories (health, sexuality, religion). What may be feasible in traditional booking models becomes problematic in programmatic advertising: decisions happen in milliseconds – legally compliant pre-screening is practically impossible.
In this briefing, legal expert Tilman Herbrich, attorney and partner at Spirit Legal, will cover the ruling and its implications:
✓ What the end of the liability privilege in data protection means for publishers and platforms
✓ Which review obligations the ECJ now requires – and where the limits are
✓ Which advertisers are particularly relevant
✓ Realistic options for publishers in Europe, including contractual safeguards with DSPs, processes, and technical measures
Speakers
