A public consultation launched by the Secretary of State for the future and development of the digital economy has revealed that one of individuals’ major concerns about targeted advertising is the fear that their advertising profiles could be kept indefinitely.
The need for a right to be forgotten in the digital era has been the focus of the Secretary of State since November 2009.
Public consultation, debates among professional associations and members of the government on the subject has led to the signing of a charter “on targeted advertising and protection of Internet users” by 10 industry associations under the coordination of the UFMD, one of the major direct marketing associations in France.
The charter contains eight recommendations to protect the privacy of Internet users and minors, among others, in the context of targeted advertising:
- providing Internet users with clear and easily accessible information related to targeted advertising implemented in the Web sites they are consulting (e.g; the techniques used to adapt the content of adverts online, the technical means used, the type of information processed)
- providing Internet users with ways to express their free choice by giving them the chance to accept or refuse the display of targeted advertising
- creating a legal framework for linking behavioral data and personal data—each time an entity wants to link behavioral data and personal data, it should inform Internet users and provide them with the possibility to accept or refuse such use of their data unless it is not legally required (e.g if linking is necessary to perform the services asked by the Internet user). When several entities want to link together their behavioral data and personal data, such processing should be subject to the prior consent of Internet users
- providing individuals with the choice to accept or not to be geo-located via their mobile phone
- taking into account the right to be forgotten in the digital era concerning cookies. The charter stipulates that the period of analysis of cookies used for behaviorally targeted advertising should be proportionate to the buying cycle of the product or service promoted through such advertising. The average duration of a buying cycle has been estimated at about 60 days by default
- ensuring the specific protection needs for private correspondence and for minors. In particular, no behavioral category may be created in relation with the interests of minors under the age of 14. Moreover, adverts targeting minors must comply with professional ethical rules
- implementing “capping” systems in order to limit the number of targeted adverts displayed
- encouraging the use and the development of technical protection devices to protect privacy and personal data and of anonymization systems.
