International coalition: Targeted advertising based on tracking must stop
An international coalition consisting of consumer rights organizations, civil rights groups, NGOs, and academics calls for action against surveillance-based advertising, or targeted advertising that is based on tracking and profiling consumers. The group is asking policymakers to take a stand and consider a ban on surveillance-based advertising as part of the Digital Services Act in the EU. They also call for the US to enact a federal privacy law.
A new report by the Norwegian Consumer Council (NCC) sheds light on the negative consequences that commercial surveillance has on consumers and society. They include: manipulation, discrimination, misinformation, undermining competition, security risks and privacy violations.
In a Norwegian population survey conducted by YouGov on behalf of the NCC, consumers clearly state that they do not want commercial surveillance. Just one out of ten respondents were positive to commercial actors collecting personal information about them online, while only one out of five thought that ads based on personal information is acceptable.
Resetting Privacy: Winning Trust, PL&B's 34th Annual International Conference, will have more on this subject in the sixth session on 7 July: Collaboration and Collision: Competition, Consumer and Privacy Law.