US lawmakers propose bill banning personalized online advertising

U.S. lawmakers introduced a bill banning almost any use of targeted digital advertising on platforms like Facebook and Google.

Surveillance advertising is a pernicious practice fueling disinformation, discrimination, voter suppression, and privacy abuses.

The model is broken, and it’s time we ban it.

I introduced a bill to do just that with @CoryBooker, @janschakowsky. https://t.co/Up5CkwycYs

— Rep. Anna G. Eshoo (@RepAnnaEshoo) January 18, 2022

The bill provides only a few exemptions, for example the use of broad location-based targeting. The authors also proposed allowing contextual advertising that aligns with online content.

“The business model of surveillance advertising rests on the unscrupulous collection and accumulation of personal data to enable ad targeting,” said the bill’s co-sponsor, California Representative Anna Eshoo.

According to the congresswoman, this practice contributes to the spread of misinformation, discrimination, privacy violations, and many other harms.

The enforcement of the new rules will be overseen by the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general. In case of violations, individual users can sue platforms such as Facebook and Google and seek compensation of up to $5,000.

Earlier in November 2021, American lawmakers introduced a bill regulating recommendation algorithms.

In April, Senator Ron Wyden proposed to prohibit government agencies from buying Clearview AI data without a court order.

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