My good friend Brian Clifton just shared his thoughts on noyb.eu - and what I like about him is that we can have great, open-minded, sometimes philosophical discussions - but always respectful and constructive. While I agree with much of what he wrote, I will offer a counterexample. In a survey, consumers are often asked, "Do you prefer targeted ads or random ads?" to which, of course, most answer that they prefer ads that are more relevant to their interests. The question is biased - it's nudging. Why isn't the question "would you rather be served ads or none at all?". That would open the door to other business models - whether it's micro-subscriptions, building a #firstpartydata profile, or better yet, a #zeropartydata trusted brand engagement. Since consent is closely tied to #adtargeting and general behavioral tracking, you can probably see the connection to consent banners. Being the jihadist (sic!) behind the #NoConsentNoTracking hashtag, I applaud when Brian says, "Therefore “no” surely means “no thank you” to being tracked – not what specific technology is being used" something I've said myself every chance I get in recent years. He is also right, of course, when he says it's not about cookies. I wish more people would use this hashtag to educate the public and marketers in general. But what I've realized is that many people are willing to support the idea of #NoConsentNoTracking when we have private conversations, but not to the point of doing so publicly. After all, my friends who work in agencies as digital marketers and analysts prefer not to poke the bear and seem willing to significantly compromise their ability to collect as much data as possible. But in doing so, as in my example, they also risk missing the opportunity to find new models that would be more forward-looking, future-proof, legally compliant, creative, perhaps even disruptive, and most importantly, more customer-centric and ethical. Where I disagree with Brian is that he uses the very pejorative label of "privacy jihadist." I'd rather see an "Accept/Reject" option at the same level, with equal simplicity and no nudging. So I must be, according to him, a "privacy jihadist"! He claims that his proposal is both ethical and legal - as developed and demonstrated in a previous article he shared. He (and I!) are biased - the only person who can judge whether it is ethical is the client himself. #dataprivacy #digitalmarketing #digitalanalytics #GDPR #privacybydesign #dataethics