Lawful basis
In practice, for a UK buyer
The paragraph above is the neutral answer. This is the part a vendor glossary leaves out.
Different segments in the same media plan can rely on different bases, which is why recording it per segment rather than per campaign is the only useful granularity. AdBuyMCP's policy engine assigns a basis per data source and attaches the condition that comes with it — a framework-validated supply chain for consent-chained sources, a completed assessment on file for legitimate-interest ones.
What this one connects to
Most confusion in media buying comes from two adjacent terms being used interchangeably, so these are the neighbours worth reading next.
UK GDPR
The United Kingdom's data protection regime, retaining the structure of the EU General Data Protection Regulation. Requires a lawful basis for processing personal data and gives individuals rights over data about them.
Legitimate interests
A lawful basis permitting processing necessary for interests pursued by the controller or a third party, provided those interests are not overridden by the rights of the individual. Requires a documented balancing assessment.
Consent
A freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous indication that someone agrees to their data being processed. Must be as easy to withdraw as to give, and cannot be inferred from silence or inactivity.
Legitimate Interests Assessment (LIA)
The documented three-part test of purpose, necessity and balancing that underpins any reliance on legitimate interests. It must be completed and retained before an organisation may rely on legitimate interests as its lawful basis for processing personal data.
Lawful-basis manifest
A record attached to every compiled channel plan naming each data source used, the lawful basis it relies on, the conditions that come with it, and the warnings raised while compiling — produced automatically rather than assembled on request.
More on compliance and clearance
UK data protection and UK advertising clearance: what has to be true before an ad runs.
45 minutes. Bring a real brief and we compile it live. You describe one audience and watch it compile into seven targeting specifications, each with the score for how much of the definition survived.
Talk it through