EU’s data watchdog calls for total ban on tracking ads

London: The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) has warned that an upcoming EU digital law can put individuals’ fundamental rights and freedoms at risk, calling on legislators to implement stricter regulations on targeted advertising by the big internet and social media firms.

In a statement, the EDPB said that online targeted advertising should be regulated more strictly in the Digital Services Act (DSA) in favour of less intrusive forms of advertising that do not require any tracking of users’ data.

It urged the lawmakers to consider a phase-out leading to a prohibition of targeted advertising on the basis of pervasive tracking while the “profiling of children should overall be prohibited”.