Data brokers

Long Read

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Q&A: €40 million fine for AdTech giant Criteo - What does it mean?

Our 2018 complaint against French AdTech company Criteo led to a €40 million fine for failing to ensure that data subjects had provided their consent to processing, to sufficiently inform them and to enable them to exercise their rights.
Following on from our initial reaction, we answer some questions about the decision below.

Press release

La société de pistage en ligne CRITEO sanctionnée à hauteur de 40 millions d'euros en France

Suite à une plainte de Privacy International déposée en 2018, la société française d'AdTech Criteo s'est vue infliger une amende de 40 millions d'euros pour avoir failli à s'assurer que les personnes concernées avaient donné leur consentement au traitement de leurs données, ainsi que pour le manque d'information et de transparence qui leur était fourni par Criteo, et l'impossibilité d'exercer pleinement leurs droits.

Press release

Global AdTech Company CRITEO fined €40 million in France for unlawfully collecting personal data

Following a 2018 complaint by Privacy International, French AdTech company Criteo was fined €40 million for failing to ensure that data subjects had provided their consent to processing, failing to sufficiently inform them and to enable them to exercise their rights.

Advocacy

PI's response to DCMS' Online Advertising Programme consultation in the UK.

The ministerial Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) in the UK recently ran a consultation to review the regulatory framework for paid-for online advertising. The aim according to DCMS is "to tackle the evident lack of transparency and accountability across the whole supply chain."

PI has long been concerned about the online advertising industry, particularly the harm caused by adtech companies and data brokers in the advertising supply chain. PI welcomed the opportunity to respond to the Online Advertising Programme (OAP) consultation.

Video

Green pill bottle with label reading Technology Pill surrounded by muli-colour pills with a sound waveform running behind it, text next to the bottle reads Update Marketing and Maternity

Update: Marketing, Maternity, and the data supply chain

In 2020, two weeks before the UK headed into the first nationwide lockdown, we published a podcast about a marketing company being given access to hospital maternity wards. Now, almost 2 years to the day, we're coming back to you with an update about how companies operating data broking services, as Bounty did, are causing headaches for brands using personal data for targeted advertising.

Video

Unhealthy diet of targeted ads

This week we talk to Daniel Magson, who has been campaigning to stop diet ad companies from targeting people with eating disorders, and Eva Blum-Dumontet, who wrote PI's recent report on the data collected by diet companies.

Long Read

A pair of blue baby shoes in a wheat field.

How a company illegally exploited the data of 14 million mothers and babies

If you’re in the UK you may know Bounty as the company that distribute packs of samples to pregnant women at midwife appointments. They’re also the ones that were found to have illegally shared the data of over 14 million mums & babies with 39 companies.

Long Read

unhealthy diet cover picture with empty plate and title

An unhealthy diet of targeted ads: an investigation into how the diet industry exploits our data

Companies selling diet programmes are using tests to lure users. Those tests encourage users to share sensitive personal data, including about their physical and mental health. But what happens to the data? We investigated to find out.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Q&A on UK regulator's action on data brokers

The UK data protection regulator took action against three credit reference agencies. Here we explain why it's important and what's next.

News & Analysis

UK data regulator takes enforcement action to rein in data brokers' use of people's personal data

In a landmark decision that shines a light on widespread data protecton failings by the entire data broker industry, the ICO has today taken enforcement action against Experian, based in part on a complaint PI made in 2018.

Advocacy

Challenging Data Exploitation in Political Campaigning: PI Recommendations.

These recommendations identify actions for governments, regulators, legislators, political parties and companies to help prevent data exploitation in political campaigning.

Video

Public opinion about data-driven election campaigning in the UK

Immediately after the UK general election in December 2019, we worked with ORG to poll people about ‘data-driven political campaigning’. We found that most people oppose the use of targeted ads during elections, and oppose election spending when the source of funding is unknown.

Explainer

7+1 tips on how to make the most out of your DSAR

Here are a few suggested tips, based on our own experience with Data Subject Access Requests (DSARs). This is based on DSARs under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), but we hope our tips may be useful in other jurisdictions too.

Long Read

2020: A Facebook user's Odyssey?

Join us on a journey to try to solve the mystery behind the advertisers who have uploaded our personal data to Facebook but with whom we've never interacted with before.

Report

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What do Led Zeppelin, Cisco and Dr Oetker have in common? Facebook says they share our data with them

A PI investigation into advertisers we had never heard of who upload our personal data on Facebook to target us.

News & Analysis

Why we're concerned about profiling and micro-targeting in elections.

There is now an ecosystem that drives voter profiling and targeted messages, often known as micro-targeting, that accompany modern political campaigning globally. The targeted ad-supported internet is made up of thousands of companies that track and profile us all 24 hours a day- not just during election time.