Privacy Implications Of Real-Time Bidding – Lessons From The Mobilewalla Enforcement Action

With advances in digital technology and consumers' insatiable appetite for "free" content, the advertising technology industry (AdTech) has played a crucial role in delivering highly personalized ad campaigns to consumers while enabling publishers to offer content at no financial cost. Advertisers have gained new opportunities to engage with consumers through apps and digital platforms, which are largely enabled by the collection of user data, and they can include personal and sensitive data often collected through features like cookies embedded in the apps and devices. It is what happens during the next step in the process of delivering a targeted ad, however, that has prompted renewed attention by regulators. The use of this information in real-time bidding (RTB) for ad space enables the delivery of targeted and tailored advertisements to device users. Enormous volumes of ad sales are transacted through RTB daily.