By Callum 
Global marketing regulations underwent significant changes in 2025. It’s no longer enough to translate content simply. Marketing teams must navigate a complex web of international and regional rules that impact how they create, share, and customize content globally.
The EU remains the global leader with new laws. The EU Accessibility Act, enacted in June 2025, ensures that businesses make their digital products and services accessible to people with disabilities. The EU AI Act has established stringent rules for AI systems that create and translate content. These regulations aren’t checkboxes. They’re a significant sign of the times, indicating how global content needs to be made.
The United States is taking a different path. By 2024, 17 states had their own data privacy laws, and more rules took effect in 2025. Some states, such as Maryland, have strict regulations that outright ban the sale of personal data, even when the customer has given their consent. This mix makes it challenging for marketers to run national campaigns.
Marketers face these regulations in direct ways:
- Personalization: 64% of consumers would abandon a brand if it doesn’t offer individualized experiences, but regulations limit how businesses can collect and use personal data.
- Targeting: The EU’s Digital Services Act bars targeting based on ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation.
- Content adaptation: Marketing materials must comply with local regulations while remaining true to the brand.
These regulations carry financial weight. Data rules that require data storage and processing in-country become expensive because businesses need to hire more staff and invest in technology in each market. However, companies that master these regulations gain significant advantages. They optimize customer experiences, reduce compliance costs, and establish reputations as data guardians.
A good localization agency helps businesses navigate this landscape. Good localization agencies do more than translate content. They ensure that regulations are met in every market while protecting your brand’s voice and identity. They spot risks early, so you don’t get fined, like Tiger Airways did in Australia, for violating the Spam Act for $110,000.
Localization and regulation bring challenges and opportunities. Marketers who build compliance into their global plans not only avoid penalties but also ensure a more effective approach. They gain a competitive advantage through trust and reach in every market they enter.
Top Legal Risks Marketers Overlook in Global Content and Campaigns
Marketing across borders can land you in legal trouble. It’s easy to get caught breaking digital marketing laws. Studies show that 70% of companies have been caught violating these laws and faced fines ranging from hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars. These fines often come as a surprise to many companies and can put them out of business.
Data privacy issues cost the most. For example, Amazon’s $746 million GDPR fine for targeted ads issues or Facebook’s $5 billion FTC settlement for data privacy issues. Money isn’t the only cost; fines also erode consumer trust and damage brand reputation.
Intellectual property rules also put a heavy burden on companies. You must file your trademark in every market where you’re selling. Localization agencies help identify IP issues before launching campaigns in new markets. This preventive step is significantly cheaper than defending against IP infringement claims later.
Advertising claims and substantiation rules vary by country. You have to make honest claims about your products and clearly state the promotion terms. Health, finance, and technology companies face extra scrutiny because these regulators are particularly vigilant.
Product managers need to keep in mind the following:
- Testimonial disclosure rules – The FTC requires clear disclosure when testimonials don’t show the typical consumer results.
- Email marketing rules – The CAN-SPAM Act requires explicit consent and an opt-out mechanism.
- Accessibility rules – You can be sued if your content isn’t available to people with disabilities.
Yes, it’s common for marketing teams to focus on creative ideas while legal compliance takes a back seat. This is because they don’t collaborate enough with their legal departments. Instead, product managers should seek legal counsel on content creation early in the process rather than making last-minute fixes.
A localization agency does more than just translate – they make sure the content follows the rules in each market. They understand the unique rules of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), China’s Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL), and California’s Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). Additionally, they help guide you through the specific industry rules that may impact your marketing claims.
Breaking these rules is a lot more expensive than you might think – you risk destroying the brand reputation that you’ve worked so hard to build. Customers dislike being misled by ads, exposed to privacy violations, or having hidden information. Therefore, incorporating compliance into your global marketing strategy is not just about avoiding fines—it’s about safeguarding your brand’s trust in every market you enter.
Copyrights, Claims, and Compliance: What Varies by Market
A common thread between countries is copyright laws, but they differ in meaningful ways. The time frame for copyright protection is up to 70 years after death in the US and the EU. However, it’s 50 years in China. The difference in duration affects how long marketers can use licensed content in each country.
The US copyright registration process offers significant legal benefits. For instance, registered copyrights give copyright holders statutory damages for infringements. Many European countries protect copyright without formal registration.
Moral rights present a unique challenge in international marketing. Moral rights in France and Germany give creators the right to use their work in any way they see fit, even after selling it. Moral rights in the US are weak and limited.
Different countries have different ideas of what constitutes fair use. In the US, commentary and educational uses are broader exceptions. Canada has narrower “fair dealing” exemptions. Marketers will need to adapt their content licensing practices to meet market standards.
Country-by-country ad regulations differ. China forbids “the best” claims without proof, and the UK and EU have strict rules. The Advertising Standards Authority polices them.
Privacy laws are another crucial cross-market variation. The EU has its data protection law. The GDPR affects how marketers can use consumer information. Japan has its system to govern consumer data.
A localization agency can be a helpful way to navigate these differences. Beyond translation, a localization agency ensures compliance across markets and maintains brand consistency. They’ll catch potential IP issues before market entry and adapt marketing claims to local standards.
Product managers should be aware that one-size-fits-all approaches are ineffective in global marketing. The best results come from strategies that take each market’s quirks into account.
How to Work with Legal Without Slowing Down Go-to-Market Plans
Cooperation between marketing and legal teams is essential for achieving global marketing success, yet 70% of companies struggle to work together effectively. Product managers can overcome the obstacles with innovative solutions that help them stay compliant without sacrificing speed.
Legal teams should initiate their involvement early in the creative process rather than waiting for final approvals. Early collaboration leads to faster reviews, fewer revisions, and a quicker path to market. Legal teams can offer solutions rather than merely spotting problems when they understand the marketing goal from the start.
Simple processes make everything go smoothly:
- Utilize a centralized feedback platform to consolidate all comments in one location.
- Automate reminders and escalation paths to avoid delays.
- Establish role-based permissions to give marketing teams the ability to operate within boundaries.
- Set clear deadlines for each review stage to help teams manage their workload.
Modern technology helps keep campaigns compliant without slowing them down. Automated workflows with built-in guidelines for brand standards and regulations speed up approvals. A localization agency with expertise in compliance offers pre-approved templates with standard legal disclaimers for various markets.
Open communication leads to effective collaboration. Marketing teams need to share their priorities with legal teams on a weekly basis to enable legal to plan their resources effectively. Legal teams must clearly communicate the risks to marketing teams without resorting to complex jargon.
Training allows teams to fill in the gaps. Marketers learn about compliance through frequent sessions, while legal teams understand the marketing goal. When both teams have a clear understanding of compliance, it becomes an integral part of the marketing strategy.
A localization agency with knowledge of compliance makes collaboration easier. They can ensure campaigns are compliant in various markets without compromising the creative impact or launch schedule.
Conclusion: Protect Your Brand While Powering Global Growth
Regulatory developments are expected to have a significant impact on the marketing landscape by 2025. Product managers must manage massive risks when taking products across borders. Building compliance into localization strategies from the start is critical for success. It is not a ‘nice to have’ add-on to the process.
We are living in the age of peak risk. Companies that fail to comply with regulations are subject to expensive fines, damage their brand reputations, and lose the trust of their customers. Despite that, this creates an opportunity for savvy product managers. Companies that excel in compliance gain an edge by streamlining their operations and earning customer trust.
Collaborating with a specialized localization partner has become a business imperative, not a ‘nice to have.’ Localization partnerships offer you translation services and critical regulatory expertise across multiple markets. A seasoned localization partner can identify costly compliance pitfalls while you retain control of brand consistency.
Product managers should collaborate with legal teams much earlier in the product development process. It will prevent roadblocks and help create a seamless compliance process without sacrificing go-to-market speed. These practices include easy approvals, standardized templates with regional disclaimers, and periodic cross-departmental training sessions to facilitate this process.
Global marketing in 2025 demands a balance. Product managers must balance regulatory requirements with business needs, cultural variations with brand consistency, and time-to-market with compliance rigor. This balance enables robust marketing strategies that withstand regulatory challenges while delivering exceptional customer experiences.
Small and medium-sized companies can access regulatory expertise through a qualified localization partner without incurring substantial investment. This partnership is particularly valuable when you expand into new markets with complex regulatory frameworks.
The future belongs to product managers who view compliance as a system for building trust and confidence. They will leave competitors that are still struggling with regulatory complexities in global marketing by 2025.