EU Regulators to Scrutinise Behavioural Targeting

The European Union's Article 29 Working Party, which examines data protection issues, is to investigate privacy concerns connected with targeted online advertising.

'This is a very hot topic that can be expected to be part of our work programme next year,' stated Gabriele Loewnau, a senior legal adviser for the German Federal Commissioner for Data Protection, which currently heads the working party.

With online advertising growing at more than 25% a year, Internet leaders including Google, Yahoo! And MySpace have all stated that they are keen to develop targeted advertising strategies, delivering ads to people according to their web surfing history. Recommendations from the EU regulators have already influenced Google in cutting the length of time it keeps users' personal search data to a maximum of 18 months (www.mrweb.com/drno/news6902.htm ).

The latest move has been announced shortly after a coalition made up of nine US privacy and consumer groups asked the Federal Trade Commission to implement a 'Do-Not-Track' list for Internet users who do not want their online activities tracked, stored and used by advertisers and marketers (www.mrweb.com/drno/news7525.htm ). In addition, around 20,000 Facebook users have signed a petition protesting against the site's new Beacon advertising system, which alerts members of friends' transactions at online shopping sites such as Overstock and eBay. Members can choose for their purchases to be hidden, but critics say that the option can easily be overlooked.

The 'Facebook, stop invading my privacy!' petition is being led by US civil action group MoveOn.org, and spokesman Adam Green commented: 'While sites like Facebook are revolutionizing how we communicate with each other, we need to make sure they place the needs and privacy rights of their users ahead of the needs of corporate advertisers.' MoveOn.org is recommending Facebook switches to an 'opt in' policy.

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.