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The determination by the EU ’s lapse body , the European Data Protection Supervisor ( EDPS ) , relates to a micro - targeted ad military campaign that the Commission run on X back in descent 2023 that processed the sensitive data ( political views ) of citizen to aim the ads .
The advertizing movement was intended to sway opinion around acontroversial EU legislative proposalto force out messaging apps to glance over people ’s communication theory for CSAM ( kid sexual abuse material ) . critic have warned the EU planrisks affecting a raft of democratic rights , threatens end - to - last encryption , and is itself legallyunsound . But the Commission has turn on regardless , garnering somereputational whack . And now this big privacy slap - down .
TheEDPS decisionfollows aNovember 2023 complaintby regional concealment right nonprofit , noyb . Its ill against the Commission ’s Directorate General for Migration and Home Affairs accused the department of “ unlawful micro - targeting . ” Per noyb , the EU data supervisor ’s findings reassert that the EU acted unlawfully , although the EDPS has only come out a reprimand ( no fine ) .
In a pressure release announcing the effect of the complaint , Felix Mikolasch , a data point shelter lawyer for the nonprofit , write : “ SinceCambridge Analyticait is clean that targeted ads can charm democracy . Using political preference for ads is clear illegal . Nevertheless many political players rely on it and online platforms take almost no action . Therefore , we receive the conclusion of the EDPS . ”
Noyb ’s ailment play up how the Commission ’s advertizing campaign sought to indirectly advance the CSAM regulation in a bid to sway opinion among citizens in the Netherlands . It target users in the land who were n’t interested in keywords such as:#Qatargate , brexit , Marine Le Pen , Alternative für Deutschland , Vox , Christian , Christian - phobia , orGiorgia Meloni .
Such keywords may be tie in with masses who hold sealed ( right - flank ) political views , make the processing a proxy for political thought , which are classed as sensitive ( or special category ) information under EU data protection police force . The axis ’s legal criterion for march sensitive personal data lawfully requires get people ’s denotative consent beforehand , which the Commission did not do .
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The EU previously tell TechCrunch that the ad campaign was “ designed and implement through a fabric contract with a contractor . ” It also enunciate its contract include “ data protection safe-conduct ” aimed at ascertain submission with the relevant regulations . The EU argued it was X that accepted the campaign and “ could be expected to put through it in accordance with the political platform ’s terms and condition and the applicable legal rule , in particular the GDPR [ General Data Protection Regulation ] . ”
So , in other words , the Commission had sought to blame X for any unlawful ad targeting . ( NB : noyb hasa disjoined ailment against 10 over this political processingthat remains under probe by data security authorities . ) In light of the EDPS ’ finding of unlawful processing taking place on X , we ’ve make out to the social medium business firm for a response .
The Commission also previously say it “ did not specify to trigger the processing of special category of personal data , ” stressing at the time ( May 2024 ) that such processing “ should not have happened . ”
It total at the time that it had taken steps to insure “ exist rules were reminded to all services . ” And , per noyb , the reasonableness that the EDPS has only issued a reprimand and not a fine is because the Commission stopped the exercise . So it looks unlikely we ’ll see any more controversial microtargeting by the EU any time presently .
There is also a new college of commissioner in place now . So Ylva Johansson , the home affairs commissioner in charge of the CSAM marriage proposal under the last mandate when the campaign was run , is no longer in the post to receive the EDPS smack .
The Commission was , earlier this year , query whether or not raw data had been processed by the crusade , but the EDPS ’ determination cements that such processing both happened and was unlawful .
The determination should have implications for noyb ’s still unfastened ill against X , and other exchangeable complaint over microtargeting using sensitive data . Given how such ad technologies typically work , there ’s a higher chance such complaints could lead to literal GDPR fine , where penalty can reach up to 4 % of global one-year turnover .
“ We have many more case on political microtargeting in the Member States , ” noted Mikolasch . “ Many political party engage in the same illegal practice . We trust the EDPS conclusion will be a manoeuvre visible radiation for interior authority that presently investigate such practices . ”
We reached out to the Commission for a reception to the EDPS ’ findings . Spokeswoman Patricia Poropat emailed a abbreviated statement — in which the EU ’s executive said : “ We take note of the [ EDPS ] decision on the Commission ’s campaign to raise cognisance about the Commission ’s legislative proposal to prevent and combat child sexual vilification cloth online . We will now assess the EDPS conclusion . ”
We ’ve also put questions to the EDPS and to Ireland ’s Data Protection Commission ( DPC ) , the authority that ’s likely to lead on investigating X ’s microtargeting , and will update this report if they respond .
Update : DPC spokesman , Risteard Byrne , enjoin : “ The DPC can support that we have received a ailment from the Dutch DPC in relation to this matter and are liaising with both the Dutch DPA and [ noyb ] to determine the full detail of complaint . On reception of these details this office will commence their exam of the ill to decide how it should be progressed . “
reach for comment , Danny Mekić , the technologist who originally spotted the Commission ad cause and raised concerns about its use of microtargeting , receive the EDPS ’ “ swift activeness , ” telling TechCrunch he ’s pleased with the event of the investigation . However , he queried why “ a more far - reaching indorsement was not impose , ” flaggingremarks made by Johanssonfollowing the issue of his article raising business , when she had take the ad campaign was “ 100 % ” effectual .
“ In this casing , give what the commissioner said , a broader investigation into this illegal co - called ‘ received normal praxis ’ would be justify , ” aver Mekić , adding : “ The European Commission failed to take such crucial and incarnate signals from experts seriously . ”
