The online advertising industry is operating unlawfully with respect to strict data protection regulations and has an "immature" understanding of its obligations, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has claimed.
The multi-billion pound AdTech industry, which is overwhelmingly dominated by Google and Facebook, is not gaining consent from users when processing personal data that includes information on sexuality, political leaning, or race, among others.
This represents a violation of standards set under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and the UK's Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018, according to a report published by the UK data regulator.
The companies are doing this through a mechanism known as real-time bidding (RTB). This set of technologies allow advertisers to compete for available digital space by automatically placing billions of ads on webpages and apps in the UK every day.
Processing non-special category data, too, risks violating the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR). Although handling this sort of data doesn't normally require consent, the industry's use of cookies to process information means consent is still needed at the initial point of processing.
"Under data protection law, using people's sensitive personal data to serve adverts requires their explicit consent, which is not happening right now," said the ICO's executive director for technology policy and innovation Simon McDougall.
"Sharing people's data with potentially hundreds of companies, without properly assessing and addressing the risk of these counterparties, raises questions around the security and retention of this data."
The privacy-centric organisation Open Rights Group (ORG), which initially co-authored the complaint that spurred the ICO to investigate the issue, welcomed the report. But the group added the regulator is proceeding slowly and not insisting on immediate changes "despite the massive scale of the data breach".
"The ICO's conclusions are strong and very welcome but we are worried about the slow pace of action and investigation," said the ORG's executive director Jim Killock. "The ICO has confirmed massive illegality on behalf of the adtech industry. They should be insisting on remedies and fast."
The data regulator highlighted a number of additional concerns around data protection laws and RTB. For example, the ICO has seen no evidence that requirements under GDPR to conduct data protection impact assessments (DPIA) are being recognised by companies involved in this mechanism.
This means the personal data risks associated with RTB have not likely been understood and mitigated. Moreover, the profiles created about individuals are highly details and repeatedly shared among hundreds of organisations without their knowledge or consent.
The ICO will continue to gather more information and engage with the AdTech industry, McDougall added, to enhance its knowledge, and share this with European regulators.
-
Bigger salaries, more burnout: Is the CISO role in crisis?In-depth CISOs are more stressed than ever before – but why is this and what can be done?
-
Cheap cyber crime kits can be bought on the dark web for less than $25News Research from NordVPN shows phishing kits are now widely available on the dark web and via messaging apps like Telegram, and are often selling for less than $25.
-
Top data security trendsWhitepaper Must-have tools for your data security toolkit
-
Why bolstering your security capabilities is critical ahead of NIS2NIS2 regulations will bolster cyber resilience in key industries as well as improving multi-agency responses to data breaches
-
SEC data breach rules branded “worryingly vague” by industry bodyNews The new rules announced last week leave many questions unanswered, according to security industry experts
-
Crackdown on crypto needed to curb cyber crime, says expertNews Threat actors would struggle to generate money without the anonymity provided by unregulated digital tokens, but such a move would require worldwide buy-in
-
The gratitude gapWhitepaper 2023 State of Recognition
-
UK gov invites experts to contribute to its overhauled AI regulatory approachNews The new approach will not adopt the EU's centralised model and sits alongside the National AI Strategy and Data Protection and Digital Information Bill
-
UK government opts against regulation for cyber security standardsNews UK Cyber Security Council will move ahead with its planned chartered standards, with the government to monitor its adoption
-
Encryption battle plays out in Australian ParliamentNews The opposition said that the government is “addicted to secrecy”
