Call to action against surveillance-based advertising

25. juni, 2021

We are asking authorities on both sides of the Atlantic to consider banning surveillance-based advertising.

Open Letter to EU and US policymakers

The surveillance economy is sometimes erroneously presented as a trade-off, where consumers allow companies to track them in order to receive access to digital content. As a report by the Norwegian Consumer Council shows, a majority of consumers do not wish to be tracked online. However, the ubiquity of commercial surveillance means that it is practically impossible to avoid being tracked, profiled and targeted.  

In addition to the clear privacy issues caused by surveillance-based advertising, systematic commercial surveillance also gives rise to and exacerbates a number of other problematic practices. As shown in a report by The Norwegian Consumer Council, the surveillance-based advertising model facilitates systemic manipulation and discrimination, poses serious national security risks, funds disinformation and fraud, while also undermining competition and taking revenue away from content creators. This harms consumers and businesses, and can undermine the cornerstones of democracy. 

This coordinated push illustrates the growing determination of consumer, digital rights, human rights and other civil society groups to end the widespread business model of spying on the public. 

Do you want to be a part of the appeal?

Please let us know if you or your organization would like to be a part of this appeal. All you have to do is to send us an e-mail and we will put you on the list. 

Name of organisations in alphabetical order:

• Accountable Tech, US
• ASUFIN, ES
• Australian Privacy Foundation
• BEUC – the European Consumer Organisation
• CDD (Center for Digital Democracy), US
• Civil Liberties Union for Europe, EU
• CO-CREATE Youth Task Force, NO
• Common Sense, US
• Consumer Action, US
• Consumer Council Northern Ireland, UK
• Consumer Federation of America (CFA), US
• Consumers’ Organisation of Macedonia, MK
• Consumers’ Union of Finland / Kuluttajaliitto – Konsumentförbundet ry, FI
• Cracked Labs – Institute for Critical Digital Culture, AT
• Data Ethics, DK
• Decode Democracy, US
• Department of Nursing and Health Promotion, OsloMet – Oslo Metropolitan / Avdeling for ernæring , NO
• Deutsche Vereinigung für Datenschutz, DE
• DFRI (Föreningen för Digitala Fri- och Rättigheter), SE
• DefendDigitalMe
• Državljan D / Citizen D, SI
• dTest, CZ
• EDRi (European Digital Rights), EU
• EKPIZO, GR
• EPIC (Electronic Privacy Information Center), US
• Eticas Foundation, ES
• Fairplay, US
• Fight for the Future, US
• Ghaqda tal-Konsumaturi / Consumers‘ Association Malta, MT
• Global Action Plan, UK
• Global Witness
• Homo Digitalis, GR
• ICCL (Irish Council for Civil Liberties), IE
• Institute for Research on Digital Literacies (IRDL), York University, CA
• KEPKA – Consumers’ Protection Center, GR
• LPIAA (Latvia Consumer Association), LV
• New Economics Foundation, UK
• Neytendasamtökin, IS
• Nordic Privacy Center, SE
• Norwegian Cancer Society / Kreftforeningen, NO
• Norwegian Consumer Council /    Forbrukerrådet, NO
• Open MIC (Open Media and Information Companies Initiative), US
• ORG (Open Rights Group), UK
• Panoptykon, PL
• Press Save the Children Youth Association / Press – Redd Barna Ungdom, NO
• Privacy International, UK
• Public Citizen, US
• Ranking Digital Rights, US
• Save the Children Norway / Redd Barna, UK
• Selbstbestimmt.Digital, DE
• Spoločnosť ochrany spotrebiteľov (S.O.S.)
• Sveriges Konsumenter, SE
• The Center for Economic Justice, US
• The National Association for Heart and Lung Disorders (LHL) / Landsforeningen for hjerte- og lungesyke, NO
• The Norwegian Council for Mental Health (NCMH) / Rådet for psykisk helse, NO
• The Norwegian Diabetes Association / Diabetesforundet, NO
• The Parent Coalition for Student Privacy, US
• UNICEF Norway, NO
• US PIRG, US
• VZBV, DE
• XR Safety Initiative
• 5Rights, U

Individual signatures

• Andra Siibak, PhD, Professor of Media Studies, Institute of Social Studies, University of Tartu, EE
• Aram Sinnreich, Professor, American University SOC, US
• Autumn Breaz
• Bår Stenvik, Author, NO
• Bruce Schneier, Fellow and Lecturer, Harvard Kennedy School, US
• Carol Miller
• Chris Stames
• Christian Butenschøn, Founder and CEO
• Christian Greftegreff Falch, Design Activist, slikvirkerdet.no, NO       
• Christopher C. Cole 
• Clement T. Cole, President Emeritus, USENIX Association             
• Dag Hareide, Author, NO
• Douwe Korff, Emeritus Professor of Human Rights and International Law, NL & UK
• Dr. Amandine Garde, Professor of Law, University of Liverpool, UK
• Dr. Elinor Carmi, Postdoc Research Associate – Digital Media & Society, Liverpool University, UK.
• Dr. Emma Boyland, senior lecturer, Psychology, University of Liverpool, UK
• Dr. Knut-Inge Klepp, Project Coordinator CO-CREATE, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, NO
• Dr. Mimi Tatlow-Golden, Co-Director, Centre for Children and Young People’s Wellbeing, The Open University, UK
• Eivind Arvesen, Group Cyber Security Manager, NO
• Elaine Morin
• Geir Bækholt, CEO, Crypho AS, NO
• Gloria González Fuster, Research Professor, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), BE
• Greg Court-Smith
• Gussie Miller
• Tiina Härkönen, Leading specialist Sitra, FI
• Harshvardhan J. Pandit, Researcher at ADAPT Centre, Trinity College Dublin, IE
• Hilde Wisløff Nagell, Tankesmien Agenda, NO
• Ian Brown, Expert
• Jef Ausloos, University of Amsterdam (IViR) & KU Leuven (CiTiP), NL
• Joakim Nygård
• Job Spits
• Joe Burkhead
• Johannes Brodwall, Principal software engineer, Sopra Steria, NO
• Joris Van Hoboken, Professor of Law at the Vrije Universiteit Brussels (VUB), BE
• José Luis López, CA
• Luca Accomazzi, Journalist and ecommerce consultant, IT
• Markus Feilner, Feilner IT
• Martti Raudas, Teacher
• Martin Gilje Jaatun, Senior Scientist, NTNU, NO
• Mie Oehlenschläger, External Lecturer, Independent Consultant, Tech & Childhood, DK
• Natalie Coulter, PhD, Director of the Institute for Research on Digital Literacies (IRDL) Associate Professor, Communication and Media Studies, CA
• YORK UNIVERSITY, Canada
• Ole-Morten Duesund, Consultant
• Pat Walshe, Privacy Matters, UK
• Per Olav Nyborg, CEO and Co-founder, traq.tech, NO
• Peter N Tomov
• Peter Schoo, Computer Science researcher
• Pia Tesdorf, Dataprotection, Writer & Educator, DK
• Pierre Dewitte,   Researcher, KU Leuven Centre for IT & IP Law – imec, BE
• Rie Aleksandra Walle, Educator and privacy & human rights enthusiast, NO
• Samson Yoseph Esayas, Associate Professor, BI Norwegian Business School, NO
• Sindra Haavik
• Sindre Säfvenbom, NO
• Simen Sommerfelt, Author of book «GDPR i praksis», NO
• Siv Midtun Hollup, Ph.d., software consultant and associate professor, UoB, NO
• Shukun Tokas, Research Scientist, SINTEF, NO
• Soner Sevin, CISO || Security evangelist
• Susie Alegre, International human rights lawyer, writer, freedom of thought and technology, Associate – Doughty Street Chambers, UK
• Svein Arild Kolbeinsen Skogen, CEO, Studio SKS; NO
• Stefania Milan, PhD, Associate Professor of New Media and Digital Culture, University of Amsterdam, NL
• Stine K. Skogen
• Tlynn M Miesaway
• Tor E. Bjørstad, Ph.d., Principal security consultant, NO
• Trond Arve Wasskog, CTO Bekk Consulting, NO