Whole of AdTech industry taken to court in Germany after European regulators fail to take action

The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) has filed a lawsuit in Hamburg against three AdTech industry trade bodies including the Interactive Avertising Bureau (IAB). Members of the IAB include big tech companies (Google, Facebook, Amazon, Twitter...), data brokers (Equifax, Experian, Acxiom...) and advertising agencies (Groupm, Publicis, IPG...).

The lawsuit follows the filing in 2018 of complaints with the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) and UK Information Commissioner (ICO), which haven't taken action yet. It relies on evidence including "the online advertising industry rulebook that specifies the intimate characteristics put into hidden dossiers" about individuals, and takes aim in particular at "Real-Time Bidding" (RTB).