The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) has issued a decision against the European Commission for illegally targeted advertising at citizens using sensitive personal data concerning their political views.
The decision comes after Austrian privacy and digital rights advocacy group NOYB filed a complaint with the EDPS in November 2023 against the Directorate General for Migration and Home Affairs, accusing the Commission of using illegal micro-targeting on X platform to promote its controversial chat control regulation to fight child sexual abuse.
The EDPS issued a formal reprimand under Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 after determining that stronger measures were unnecessary as the Commission ended the practice.
In a statement, Felix Mikolasch, Data Protection Lawyer at noyb said: "Since Cambridge Analytica it is clear that targeted ads can influence democracy. Using political preferences for ads is clearly illegal. Nevertheless, many political players rely on it and online platforms take almost no action. Therefore, we welcome the decision of the EDPS."
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