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5 NEWS 24.6.2021 EVERY day, consumers are exposed to extensive commercial surveillance on- line. is leads to manipulation, fraud, discrimination and privacy violations. Information about what people like, their purchases, mental and physical health, sexual orientation, location and political views are collected, combined and used under the guise of targeting advertising. In a new report, the Norwegian Con- sumer Council (NCC) sheds light on the negative consequences that this commercial surveillance has on con- sumers and society. e NCC together with other organizations and experts, including the Għaqda tal-Konsumaturi, is asking authorities on both sides of the Atlantic to consider a ban. In Europe, the upcoming Digital Services Act can lay the legal framework to do so. In the US, legislators should seize the oppor- tunity to enact comprehensive privacy legislation that protects consumers. e collection and combination of in- formation not only violates one's right to privacy, but renders a person vulner- able to manipulation, discrimination and fraud. is harms individuals and society as a whole, the director of digital policy in the NCC, Finn Myrstad, said. In a Norwegian population survey conducted by YouGov on behalf of the NCC, consumers clearly state that they do not want commercial surveillance. Just one out of ten respondents were positive to commercial actors collecting personal information about them on- line, while only one out of five thought that ads based on personal information were acceptable. "Most of us do not want to be spied on online, or receive ads based on tracking and profiling. ese results mirror sim- ilar surveys from Europe and the United States, and should be a powerful signal to policymakers looking at how to bet- ter regulate the internet," Myrstad said. Significant consequences e NCC report 'Time to ban sur- veillance-based advertising' exposes a variety of harmful consequences that surveillance-based advertising can have on individuals and on society. 1. Manipulation: Companies with comprehensive and intimate knowledge about people can shape their messages in attempts to reach them when they are susceptible, for example to influence elections or to advertise weight loss products, unhealthy food or gambling. 2. Discrimination: e opacity and au- tomation of surveillance-based adver- tising systems increase the risk of dis- crimination, for example by excluding consumers based on income, gender, race, ethnicity or sexual orientation, lo- cation, or by making certain consumers pay more for products or services. 3. Misinformation: e lack of control over where ads are shown can promote and finance false or malicious content. is also poses significant challenges to publishers and advertisers regard- ing revenue, reputational damage, and opaque supply chains. 4. Undermining competition: e surveillance business model favours companies that collect and process in- formation across different services and platforms. is makes it difficult for smaller actors to compete, and nega- tively impacts companies that respect consumer' fundamental rights. 5. Security risks: When thousands of companies collect and process enor- mous amounts of personal data, the risk of identity theft, fraud and blackmail increases. is data collection has been classified by some as a national security risk. 6. Privacy violations: e collection and use of personal data is happening with little or no control, both by large companies and by companies that are unknown to most consumers. Consum- ers have no way to know what data is collected, who the information is shared with, and how it may be used. "It is very difficult to justify the nega- tive consequences of this system. A ban will contribute to a healthier market- place that helps protect individuals and society," Myrstad said. Good alternatives In the report, the NCC points to al- ternative digital advertising models that do not depend on the surveillance of consumers, and that provide advertis- ers and publishers more oversight and control over where ads are displayed and which ads are being shown. "It is possible to sell advertising space without basing it on intimate details about consumers. Solutions already ex- ist to show ads in relevant contexts, or where consumers self-report what ads they want to see," Myrstad said. "A ban on surveillance-based advertis- ing would also pave the way for a more transparent advertising marketplace, di- minishing the need to share large parts of ad revenue with third parties such as data brokers. A level playing field would contribute to giving advertisers and content providers more control, and keep a larger share of the revenue." International coalition calls for action against surveillance-based advertising The collection and combination of information not only violates one's right to privacy, but renders a person vulnerable to manipulation, discrimination and fraud

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