Miguel Afonso Caetano<p>"Tracking and profiling for advertising purposes present significant risks to consumers and society. This is demonstrated by a report commissioned by the Federation of German Consumer Organisations (vzbv). The advertising industry’s practice of categorising and influencing individuals based on their preferences, behaviours and vulnerabilities leads to manipulation, discrimination and a loss of trust. vzbv calls on the European Commission to ban tracking and profiling for advertising purposes and ensure the protection of digital fundamental rights.</p><p>“Every click on the internet is tracked because it supposedly reveals something about us: our preferences, desires and interests. The uncontrolled data collection by the advertising industry poses great risks to consumers and society,” says Michaela Schröder, Head of Consumer Policy at vzbv. “Consumers are powerless against the practices of the advertising industry. Existing laws are not sufficient. A ban on tracking and profiling is the only way to ensure meaningful consumer protection,” Schröder states."</p><p><a href="https://www.vzbv.de/en/personalised-advertising-overdue-regulation" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">vzbv.de/en/personalised-advert</span><span class="invisible">ising-overdue-regulation</span></a></p><p><a href="https://tldr.nettime.org/tags/EU" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>EU</span></a> <a href="https://tldr.nettime.org/tags/ConsumersRights" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ConsumersRights</span></a> <a href="https://tldr.nettime.org/tags/AdTech" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>AdTech</span></a> <a href="https://tldr.nettime.org/tags/Surveillance" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Surveillance</span></a> <a href="https://tldr.nettime.org/tags/TargetedAds" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>TargetedAds</span></a> <a href="https://tldr.nettime.org/tags/DataBrokers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>DataBrokers</span></a> <a href="https://tldr.nettime.org/tags/AdTracking" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>AdTracking</span></a> <a href="https://tldr.nettime.org/tags/DataProtection" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>DataProtection</span></a></p>