The European privacy watchdog, the European Data Protection Supervisor, proposes a phase-out and ban on online targeted advertising based on tracking. The EDPS also wants more restrictions on data collected about people.
In an opinion report (pdf), Wojciech Wiewiorówski, director of the EDPS, proposes an addition to the digital services act that lies with the European Parliament, aimed at providers of targeted advertising, such as giants Google and Facebook. Wiewiorówski says that transparency from ad providers is not enough, but that targeted advertising based on tracking and personal data should be phased out, before being banned completely. He speaks of ‘pervasive tracking’.
Wiewiorówski states that there are various risks associated with online targeted advertising, in terms of privacy, but also in terms of security. He also argues that the current advertising-driven business models of companies such as Google and Facebook can be harmful to society, because they cause polarization and promote misinformation and manipulation. He says that while the current European Parliament bill has several mitigation measures built in, aimed at promoting transparency and accountability, they “do not address the root cause”: the collection of personal data for advertising.
The EPDS therefore proposes that MPs working on the law should do more to specifically tackle targeted advertising. Additional rules should be introduced. In addition to phasing out targeted advertising in the EU, there must also be restrictions on which categories of data may be collected and processed for targeting and which data may be collected for advertisements and shared with third parties that enable targeted advertising.
In December, the European Commission presented two bills targeting online services such as Google and Facebook, the Digital Services Act, or DSA, and the Digital Markets Act, or DMA. The Register explains that the DSA must clarify the responsibilities of online service providers, platforms and gatekeepers in protecting people’s rights online and that the DMA must oversee governance structures that promote innovation and competition, i.e. those monopolies and prevent cartel formation. The European Parliament has yet to consider the legislative proposals.