By Dave McKay | June 20, 2021
Irish Council for Civil Liberties Launch Major Litigation
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL), said in a statement that online advertising amounts to “the Biggest. Data. Breach. Ever” and accusing internet adland of compiling “secret dossiers” on every single netizen.
The ICCL is fronted by Johnny Ryan, privacy-focussed web browser Brave’s ex-chief policy officer. He said:
“These secret dossiers about you – based on what you think is private – could prompt an algorithm to remove you from the shortlist for your dream job. A retailer might use the data to single you out for a higher price online. A political group might micro target you with personalised disinformation.”
The lawsuit, filed in Germany, sees Ryan and his legal advisors taking aim at Google, Facebook, Amazon, Twitter, and AT&T. It homes in on the practices of IAB Interactive Advertising Bureau TechLab (IAB). ICCL say that IAB is a New York-based body which
“…sets the rules that govern Google and Facebook and the global online advertising industry.”
ICL asserts that:
“The private things we do online are collected from a vast online advertising system that operates behind the scenes on virtually every website and app. This online advertising system [is] called Real-Time Bidding (RTB).”
RTB uses information such as identity and browsing and purchasing habits to match adverts to users. Ryan says an alternative to RTB is contextual advertising.
Source: The Register