Why did we ever call ourselves a marketing channel? Have we made a legal rod for our own back by attaching ourselves to the wider advertising industry?

Leading digital and e-commerce lawyer Eitan Jankelewitz explores this idea and the consequences for affiliate and partner marketing in our recent Ask an Expert Q&A

This hour-long open session, which took questions from the audience, was dominated by how affiliate marketing is classified by brands and regulators. This deceptively complex and tricky topic is causing concern among many industry players because of a lack of clarity, visibility and confusing enforcement. It’s leading to some real-world problems with cookies blocked, sales untracked, commissions impacted, and untracked transactions spiking.

So if you are still struggling with consent and cookie banners, this is the session for you. By the end, you’ll understand the difference between strictly necessary, measurement and marketing cookies and what universal standards exist for classification.

We also touch on the ‘consent and pay’ topic and how philosophical questions about what consumers should be entitled to access online come into play. AI also makes an appearance, with a legal view on what to expect over the coming months.

Listen to the 60-minute Q&A in full.