Democratic Lawmakers Call for Ban of Surveillance Advertising – By Alexandra Kelley (Nextgov) / January 28, 2022
Sen. Cory Booker and Rep. Anna Eshoo asked the Federal Trade Commission to consider prohibiting targeted advertising through personal user data.
Democratic lawmakers Sen. Cory Booker, D-NJ, and Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., penned a letter to the Federal Trade Commission requesting that the agency place limitations on surveillance advertising across digital platforms.
Surveillance advertising is the practice of using users’ personal data, sometimes called ‘cookies,’ to inform what advertisements are deployed to unique users. Using these targeted techniques has become a staple in online advertising, with paid advertisements offering a source of revenue to hosting websites.
“The surveillance advertising business model is premised on the unseemly collection and hoarding of personal data to enable ad targeting,” the letter reads. “Companies collect huge amounts of data to maximize user engagement because it increases ad revenue.”
