26th November 2007
EU regulators are to examine the use of targeted marketing strategies by online advertisers.
The EU will look at whether web users' privacy is invaded when companies such as Google and Facebook store behaviour patterns and information in order to customise adverts for individual users, reports Reuters.
The news follows a petition signed by 13,000 users of the social networking site Facebook, protesting against the introduction of a news feed which informs people what their friends have recently bought online.
"Sites like Facebook are revolutionising how we communicate with each other in a 21st century democracy," commented Adam Green, a spokesman for civic action group MoveOn.org which led the protest.
However, they need to ensure the needs of their users are put before those of major advertising companies, he added.
Programs manager for the Internet Advertising Bureau James Wallington recently said that online advertising tracking may seem like an invasion of privacy but is actually a "responsible" and "successful" way of ensuring internet users receive adverts that are more suited to their needs.
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