The controller is identified before the individual
Before a person is identified, tracked or profiled, they must be able to see who the controller is, what the purpose is, and what authority is relied on.
ITCoP
Internet Transparency Code of Practice
A code of practice that makes transparency the default online, in line with Convention 108+.
Background
Introduced at CPDP 2026
The Internet Transparency Code of Practice (ITCoP) was introduced on 20 May 2026 at CPDP Brussels, on the panel "Transparency by Default: An Internet Transparency Code of Practice", which was moderated by the Council of Europe.
It aligns with the transparency principles of Convention 108+, the modernised Council of Europe data protection convention. Its predecessor, Convention 108, is open to states worldwide and has 55 Parties.
At the same panel, Ana Brian Nougrères, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Privacy, called for digital systems to prove their accountability at the very first point of interaction.
Core positions
What the code requires
No login needed to find out who is collecting
People with no relationship to a controller, such as those recorded by cameras in public spaces, must be able to find out who is collecting their data, and to object, without logging in to a website.
Transparency policy
The transparency policy
Most organizations publish a privacy policy written for legal review. ITCoP sets out how to update that policy into a transparency policy: one that people can read, that machines can read, and that is kept current as processing changes.
Standards
The Transparency Profile
The machine-readable form of a transparency policy is called the Transparency Profile. It carries the policy and the notice, and maps them to the rules of each country where the organization operates.
The profile builds on published notice and consent standards and on the Kantara ANCR extension, so that a transparency policy can be read by people and checked by machines. Regulators and experts can shape its requirements through the TCIEG expert survey.
White paper
Transparency by Default for the Internet and AI
Version 0.5 of the ITCoP white paper is a draft for external review. It sets out the Internet + AI Transparency Code of Practice, the two tiers of notice, and the AI Transparency Profile. You see a notice first, receive a receipt number, and the paper you download carries an undermark you can check.
Contact us
Talk to TCIEG
TCIEG welcomes discussion with regulators, standards participants, civil society, technology providers, legal experts, privacy engineers and implementation practitioners working toward interoperable Operational Transparency standards.