Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential economic impact of the Information Commissioner's Office's proposed regulatory approach to online advertising on the publishing sector.

This Government recognises the importance of supporting the growth of the UK’s publishing sector - one of our most successful and long-standing creative industries.

We welcome the Information Commisisoner’s Office’s (ICO) work in this area. The ICO are currently examining whether additional exceptions to the cookies consent requirements in the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 could be made to support online advertising while maintaining users’ privacy standards. We will be considering the ICO’s recommendations, and their potential impact, carefully in due course.