Data protection is a fundamental right in Europe, and the clear principles of the EU General Data Protection Regulation must be enforced. Personalized advertising with tracking, profiling or behavioral analysis should therefore finally be treated for what it is: a dangerous manipulation mechanism that should not be normalized. Fairness to users and their fundamental rights should not be undermined by surveillance advertising. It harms the individuals and society as a whole.

Together with Wikimedia Deutschland, FifF, Germanwatch and Konzeptwerk Neue Ökonomie, we demand the following: The new EU Commission should initiate a ban on personalized advertising. The recently announced Digital Fairness Act can be used to enforce the ban on tracking and personalized advertising.

Position paper: Rethinking Online Advertising

European Commission should lead the way in banning personalised advertising

Financing digital services almost exclusively through personalised advertising poses considerable risks to democracy, social cohesion, informational self-determination, climate and national security. The EU has established important cornerstones to protect online users in the shape of the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

At the same time, the reactions of large corporations to this legislation show that a paradigm shift in the online advertising market is still needed, as the advertising industry is persistently undermining efforts to prevent manipulative practices.

Ban personalised advertising

A ban on tracking-based personalised advertising will provide an incentive to reinforce sustainable alternative models and, in fact, will be a condition for making them viable. The advertising industry already has sustainable, proven concepts for effective online advertising that do not require targeted tracking and personalisation (e.g. contextual advertising).

By requiring alternative advertising models to replace personalised advertising, the Commission can support the online advertising market in transforming and modernising itself, and strengthen its commitment to climate change mitigation and digital fundamental rights. We are therefore calling on the European Commission to propose legislation that would ban personalised advertising. The recently announced Digital Fairness Act can build momentum for this.

Read our full position paper.