The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) recently
published a summary report of its fact
finding forum on data protection issues arising from advertising
technology (adtech). Adtech is a term commonly used to refer to all
technologies, software and services used for delivering and
targeting online advertisements.
The ICO compiled responses from over 2,300 participants in an
online survey, and conducted fieldwork with more than a hundred
stakeholders (publishers, advertisers, start-ups, adtech firms,
lawyers and citizens). The ICO highlighted three key challenges of
adtech: (i) transparency, (ii) lawful basis and (iii) security.
(i) Lack of transparency
One of the key findings of the forum was the consumers' lack
of understanding of online advertising and Real Time Bidding (RTB).
Most respondents were unclear about how RTB works, how their data
is used and how adverts are funded. This was evident when comparing
their answers before and after they were
