by Honor Mahony
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Commission has warned that it will crack down on unscrupulous companies targeting vulnerable online consumers if no improvements are made to protect personal data from abuse.
Speaking at a conference on rise of the amount of personal data collected and used for commercial purposes, consumer affairs commissioner Meglena Kuneva on Tuesday (31 March) pointed out that citizens' online data - such as visited websites, purchases made and online friends - are routinely being used without their knowledge.
Businesses take the information to build up a profile of consumers so they can target the person who appears to be in debt with predatory loans, the person who appears to have a medical condition with certain drugs or even customise services in terms of price, based on whether the customer is likely to be late in payments, fall ill, or return goods that they buy.
"The new reality that internet consumers are paying for services with their personal data and exposure to ads," said the commissioner, adding that "most users are not aware of this."
The huge growth in internet use both by companies and consumers coupled with a lack in corresponding policy means the World Wide Web is "turning out to be the world 'wild west,'" she said.
While personal data is what makes the internet as an advertising-supported service "go round", actual privacy policies are either non-existent or at best intransparent, but "avoiding tracking is currently technically difficult if not impossible."
The commissioner pointed out that privacy policies are "not always easily accessible" and in some cases, a consumer is asked to submit personal data before the privacy policy is given or sometimes a web service will include a clause under which the consumer agrees to share data with other commercial partners.
"You are signing up to give these unnamed people your data," said Ms Kuneva.
Consumer policing of the internet is not enough, the commissioner, with most people not taking the time to read the long terms of online services.
She pointed to a recent "uproar" on Facebook. The social networking service quietly included a clause in their terms and conditions meaning that its users agreed to hand over their personal data to Facebook in perpetuity. It already had 175 million users before the change was noticed.
She called for "principles of transparency, clear language, opt-in or opt-out options that are meaningful and easy to use," allowing people to partake in an economic transaction "without selling [themselves] indiscriminately as commercial fodder to the entire world."
On commercial policies, she called for "guiding principles" with a recent study showing that people no longer use their own judgment when faced with an supposed expert.
At Tuesday's meeting, the commissioner raised a series of questions on the matter, including concerning when a commercial message oversteps the line to look like personal advice and to what extent companies should be allowed to discriminate among consumers in terms of price or message.
She left the questions unanswered but called on industry to establish a framework for "acceptable behaviour" or the commission, as a regulator, "will not shy away from [its] duties."
The commissioner also noted that the most confident group of internet users - 15 to 25-year-olds - use the internet even though they do not trust it, something the commissioner likened to "drinking ... water while thinking it might be slightly toxic."
Source: www.euobserver.com
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Commission has warned that it will crack down on unscrupulous companies targeting vulnerable online consumers if no improvements are made to protect personal data from abuse.
Speaking at a conference on rise of the amount of personal data collected and used for commercial purposes, consumer affairs commissioner Meglena Kuneva on Tuesday (31 March) pointed out that citizens' online data - such as visited websites, purchases made and online friends - are routinely being used without their knowledge.
Businesses take the information to build up a profile of consumers so they can target the person who appears to be in debt with predatory loans, the person who appears to have a medical condition with certain drugs or even customise services in terms of price, based on whether the customer is likely to be late in payments, fall ill, or return goods that they buy.
"The new reality that internet consumers are paying for services with their personal data and exposure to ads," said the commissioner, adding that "most users are not aware of this."
The huge growth in internet use both by companies and consumers coupled with a lack in corresponding policy means the World Wide Web is "turning out to be the world 'wild west,'" she said.
While personal data is what makes the internet as an advertising-supported service "go round", actual privacy policies are either non-existent or at best intransparent, but "avoiding tracking is currently technically difficult if not impossible."
The commissioner pointed out that privacy policies are "not always easily accessible" and in some cases, a consumer is asked to submit personal data before the privacy policy is given or sometimes a web service will include a clause under which the consumer agrees to share data with other commercial partners.
"You are signing up to give these unnamed people your data," said Ms Kuneva.
Consumer policing of the internet is not enough, the commissioner, with most people not taking the time to read the long terms of online services.
She pointed to a recent "uproar" on Facebook. The social networking service quietly included a clause in their terms and conditions meaning that its users agreed to hand over their personal data to Facebook in perpetuity. It already had 175 million users before the change was noticed.
She called for "principles of transparency, clear language, opt-in or opt-out options that are meaningful and easy to use," allowing people to partake in an economic transaction "without selling [themselves] indiscriminately as commercial fodder to the entire world."
On commercial policies, she called for "guiding principles" with a recent study showing that people no longer use their own judgment when faced with an supposed expert.
At Tuesday's meeting, the commissioner raised a series of questions on the matter, including concerning when a commercial message oversteps the line to look like personal advice and to what extent companies should be allowed to discriminate among consumers in terms of price or message.
She left the questions unanswered but called on industry to establish a framework for "acceptable behaviour" or the commission, as a regulator, "will not shy away from [its] duties."
The commissioner also noted that the most confident group of internet users - 15 to 25-year-olds - use the internet even though they do not trust it, something the commissioner likened to "drinking ... water while thinking it might be slightly toxic."
Source: www.euobserver.com
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