Ending illegal online advertising
When you see an advertisement online, chances are that Real-Time Bidding advertising systems (RTB AdTech) have just auctioned your personal data, illegally, to hundreds of companies vying for your attention.
The highest bidder serves you their ad, but winners and losers alike collect your data and combine it with other datasets to build sophisticated profiles about you.
The problem with online advertising
What kind of personal data do AdTech companies collect? Everything from your geolocation, political beliefs and sexual preferences to your browsing habits and information about your devices.
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) grants individuals powerful data rights including the right to retrieve, delete or revoke consent for the personal data companies hold. When RTB systems broadcast your personal data to thousands of faceless companies, your data rights become impossible to use.
In 2018 ORG’s executive director Jim Killock joined Dr. Johnny Ryan of Brave & Michael Veale of University College London in a joint complaint against Google and IAB. These companies provide what’s known as the framework for authorised buyers that AdTech companies operate within.
In a major win, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) responded to the complaint in June 2019 agreeing that RTB’s collection of data is “taking place unlawfully at the point of collection.”
Despite agreeing with the central argument of the complaint, the ICO has failed to enforce the law. In May 2020, a year and half after the initial complaint, the ICO announced it was pausing its investigation so as not to put extra pressure on the advertising industry during Covid-19. Then they dropped the investigation altogether. In early 2021 the ICO’s investigation into AdTech resumed, yet inexplicably our complaint remained closed. At the end of 2021, the ICO again confirmed AdTech is operating unlawfully, but failed to act.
Open Rights Group has taken the ICO to court. Support our legal action today.
The Story So Far
A day of reckoning for IAB and Adtech
In a damning verdict, the Belgian Data Protection Authority ruled the illegality of IAB cookie consent banners.Our Adtech challenge: what we won, what we lost and what we do next
On Friday 26 November 2021, the Upper Tribunal ruled (in Killock and Veale & Ors v Information Commissioner (GI/113/2021 and ors) on our challenge against the ICO’s handling of our complaint concerning illegal data processing in the AdTech sector.Lloyd vs Google: UK needs collective redress
In 2012, Google hacked the web browers of million of Apple users to store data on their devices and track their activities online.Cookie banners, explained
Cookie banners are hitting the headlines, as policymakers and activists across political divides seek to take action on them once and for all.Adtech: let’s get rid of cookie banners
A nuisance is troubling the Internet and the digital life of Europeans: the consent or ‘cookie’ banner.Adtech vs. iOS, explained
With their last update for the iOS operating system, Apple rolled out a feature called App Transparency Tracking framework.#StopStalkerAds: adtech is watching you!
Following our open letter to the European Parliament, Open Rights Group are launching a new campaign that wants to #StopStalkerAds.Adtech: an Open Letter to the European Parliament
Today, Open Rights Group, Panoptykon and Liberties EU sent an Open Letter to the European Parliament, asking them to stand up for the ePrivacy Regulation and our online privacy.Adtech: An industry broken by design and by default
European Digital Rights (EDRi) recently published “targeted online: an industry broken by design and by default”.Adtech – an offer you can’t refuse
This spring, Apple will implement a new policy that will require App Store developers to ask for users’ permission in order to track them online.ICO enforcement: two years after the GDPR
On Tuesday, the Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham will appear in front of the DCMS Committee for a hearing, where she will be questioned about her office’s role in protecting personal data against targeted online advertising, and the use of personal data for tackling the coronavirus pandemic.Our fight against Adtech gets bigger
Two years ago, complaints against real time bidding (RTB) were lodged by Jim Killock of Open Rights Group, Michael Veale of UCL, and Johnny Ryan.The ICO must fix the Adtech industry
When we first took on the ad industry we knew it would not be simple.Belgian DPA fires a warning shot at adtech, what’s next?
In 2018 we lodged complaints in UK and Ireland against real time bidding (RTB), a technology which powers commercial tracking on the Internet.Bringing sticks to a gunfight: how the ICO fails to enforce the law
As you may be aware of, we are taking the Information Commissioner’s Office to Court over their failure to enforce the law against digital advertising and real time bidding.Digital advertising market study: the good, the bad and the ugly
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) recently released their market study on online platforms and digital advertising.Something is rotten in the Information Commissioner’s Office
The COVID-19 test and trace system immediately hit the news for its dubious privacy policy, as well as the lack of a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA).ICO may have slowed down on AdTech, but we’re up and running
The ongoing coronavirus crisis may have pulled the brake on the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) enforcement of your rights, but online advertising companies are doing just fine.Is ethical Ad-Tech possible?
Last week ORG was in Brussels at the main annual privacy conference in Europe, CPDP, which stands for Computer Privacy and Data Protection.The AdTech showdown is coming but will the ICO bite?
The 2018 General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was meant to be a Good Thing – a strong law that would make businesses act responsibly and give ordinary people control over our personal data.Response to IAB statement
IAB: We have taken note of media reports regarding an update to complaints made by ad-blocking browser developer Brave and Polish activist group Panoptykon Foundation to a number of European data protection authorities.Time to make Data Protection work for consumers
Data Protection.A brief chance for better UK data protection law
However, the GDPR’s enforcement within member countries has considerable flexibility.ORG’s first take on the leaked e-Privacy Regulations
Blog Leak The leaked e-Privacy Regulation (ePR) brings many improved protections to our communications data, which are now extended to communications devices and internet services, not just traditional telecom providers.More Information
01 June, 2021
ePrivacy Regulation and privacy automation
An Open Letter from 34 civil society organisations, asking for the introduction of automated privacy signals
Dear Member of the European Parliament,
A nuisance is troubling the internet and the digital life of Europeans: the consent or ‘cookie’ banner.
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14 April, 2021
ePrivacy Regulation – an open letter from 30 civil society organisations
Our letter to the European Parliament asking them to stand up against online tracking
Dear Members of the European Parliament,
The undersigned organisations urge the European Parliament to ensure a high level of protection of privacy and confidentiality in the upcoming ePrivacy Regulation and to address the weakness in the current Council position during trilogue negotiations.
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29 April, 2020
ORG Response to the DCMS Call for Evidence on Online Advertising
We made the case for reform of the adtech industry to the DCMS.
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29 April, 2020
ORG Response to the European Commission Review of the GDPR
We suggested changes to the mechanism which governs cross-border complaints to the European Commission, based on our experience with adtech complaints.
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14 January, 2020
Letter to ICO re Out Of Control report
Information Commissioner Wycliffe HouseWater Lane, Wilmslow
Dear Elizabeth Denham,
Re: The adtech industry is not respecting consumers’ privacy
We would like to bring to your attention a report published on January 14th by the Norwegian Consumer Council, which looks into the hidden side of the data economy.
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31 July, 2019
Response to the Competition & Markets Authority study into the digital advertising market
Open Rights Group (ORG) is a UK-based digital campaigning organisation working to protect fundamental rights to privacy and free speech online.
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14 June, 2019
Response to the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation consultation on online targeting
Response to the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation Call for Evidence Consultation on online targeting
Open Rights Group (ORG) is a UK-based digital campaigning organisation working to protect fundamental rights to privacy and free speech online.
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11 December, 2018
E-Privacy Regulation – Areas of Concern for the Open Rights Group
E-Privacy Regulation: Areas of Concern for Open Rights Group
These notes outline our main concerns with the current discussions in Brussels around the proposed E-Privacy Regulation, and have been presented ot the DCMS team responsible for the UK side of the negotiations.
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11 December, 2017
Collective Redress: Government Position – Open Rights Group Response
Government’s position is in bold.
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Press Releases
25 November, 2021
Privacy watchdog condemns Regulator’s lack of action
Responding to the ICO’s report on Adtech, detailing continued unlawfulness with no deadline for change, the Executive Director of the Open Rights Group, Jim Killock, said:
“The ICO has investigated, reported twice and explained repeatedly that the Google and the IAB-led adtech industry are in massive breach of the law.
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07 September, 2021
Open Rights Group calls on the ICO to do its job and enforce the law
EMBARGO: Immediate
Responding to ICO Commissioner Elizabeth Denham’s call on G7 countries to tackle cookie pop-ups challenge, Jim Killock, Executive Director of Open Rights Group, said:
“The simple fact is that most cookie banners are unlawful, and the data collection behind them is, as her own report states, also unlawful.
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20 July, 2021
Complaint against the AdTech industry body, the IAB, and Google in the Upper Tribunal
Jim Killock and Michael Veale are today at the Upper Tribunal asking for their Complaint against the AdTech industry body, the IAB, and Google to be reopened, after the ICO closed it without taking action against it.
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22 January, 2021
ICO INVESTIGATES ADTECH WITHOUT ORG COMPLAINT
Responding to ICO’s announcement today that the regulator is resuming invetigation of massive data breaches taking place in the online ad industry through “Real-Time Bidding”, ORG explain that this shows the ICO is wrong to have closed complaints by Jim Killock and Michael Veale against Adtech earlier this year.
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05 November, 2020
Privacy organisation Open Rights Group taking the Privacy regulator ICO to court in a landmark case.
In an unprecedented move, the Privacy Campaigners at the Open Rights Group (ORG) have today announced that they are taking the UK’s privacy regulator, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) to court over the regulator’s failure to stop unlawful practices by the Digital Advertising Technology (AdTech) industry.
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17 January, 2020
Data regulator ICO fails to enforce the law
The complainants are considering taking legal action against the regulator.
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14 January, 2020
NEWS RELEASE Mobile Adtech “out of control”
A report released today shows that Adtech in mobile apps is sharing user data far and wide, through adtech systems that include sensitive information such as sexuality, drug use, political views.
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20 June, 2019
Complainants call on ICO to take action against adtech sector
The ICO has agreed in substance with the complainants’ points about the insecurity of adtech data sharing.
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14 September, 2017
Data Protection Bill must give privacy groups right to lodge complaints
ORG welcomes the Bill, which will improve our ability to control how data is collected and used.
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10 May, 2017
Rights groups demand more transparency over Facebook’s ‘insights’ into young users
Facebook should immediately release all documents describing how it collected and analyzed psychological information it recently collected about its youngest users, some as young as 14, and college students, Public Citizen and a coalition of 25 groups said in a letter to the corporation today.
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