Canon México viola privacidad de usuarios

Behavioural advertising entails the tracking of users when they surf the Internet and the building of profiles over time, which are later used to provide them with advertising matching their interests. While the Article 29 Working Party does not question the economic benefits that behavioural advertising may bring for stakeholders, it firmly believes that such practice must not be carried out at the expense of individuals’ rights to privacy and data protection. The EU data protection regulatory framework setting forth specific safeguards must be respected. To facilitate and encourage compliance, the present Opinion clarifies the legal framework applicable to those engaged in behavioural advertising.

In particular, the Opinion notes that advertising network providers are bound by Article 5(3) of the ePrivacy Directive pursuant to which placing cookies or similar devices on users’ terminal equipment or obtaining information through such devices is only allowed with the informed consent of the users. The Opinion notes that settings of currently available browsers and opt-out mechanisms only deliver consent in very limited circumstances. The Opinion asks advertising network providers to create prior opt-in mechanisms requiring an affirmative action by the data subjects indicating their willingness to receive cookies or similar devices and the subsequent monitoring of their surfing behaviour for the purposes of serving tailored advertising.