Log files: issue-134

 

We suggest option 2 as the most flexible  solution for market research as there is no standard short-term period that  will cover all forms of research, recognizing that ad campaigns have different  durations. Market research cannot be restricted to a fixed, one-size-fits-all  retention period, whilst meeting the needs for custom market research and providing  assurances to deliver quality data.    

Data for market, social and opinion research  may contain certain identifiable elements at raw, source level such as standard  demographic data including gender and age ranges and these elements are used to  control the quality and representativeness of the sample.    

Market research companies need flexibility in  the stated times for retaining raw data to be able to check the integrity of  the data. For instance, if a problem shows up in the data from one campaign, it  might be necessary to review raw data from a previous campaign to identify if  there are issues that need to be resolved.    

The data is collected for a specific market  research purpose and once checks have been done, the identifiers are removed,  and aggregated unlinkable data is provided to the end user.    

Option 2: Operators MAY retain data  related to a communication in a third-party context. They MUST provide public  transparency of their data retention period, which MUST specify the time period  for data retention (e.g. not infinite or indefinite.) During this time,  operators may render data unlinkable (as described above) or perform processing  of the data for any of the other permitted uses.

Kathy Joe

International Standards and Public Affairs Director, ESOMAR