Data Exploitation

Learn

Explainer

How to minimise targeted ads on social media: Uber

Explainer

Big Data

New technologies and electoral processes: online campaigning in social media platforms

19m53s

The incorporation of new technologies to electoral processes is a phenomenon with a global and exponential growth. Despite its benefits, online campaigning is not without challenges, and can pose threats to transparency and equity in electoral competition. Given the role of elections as

Campaigns

Advertisers on Facebook: who the heck are you and how did you get my data?

Investigating brands using Facebook for advertising, exposing how difficult it is to understand how our data's used and demanding Facebook make it easier to exercise our rights

See all campaigns

Reports and Analysis

Key Resources

Timeline of complaints against AdTech

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) became enforceable on May 25th 2018. Since then, complaints against the AdTech industry are piling up, attacking intrusive tracking and profiling practices, unfairly obtained consent and insufficient legal basis, all of which we consider to infringe GDPR. This timeline is a list of some of the key actions taken against this ecosystem, a reminder of the challenges that AdTech companies are facing and a demonstration that GDPR still has to be implemented and enforced.

Hand passing a small wrapped item to another hand

Case Study

Tracking as a service: ShareThis to be profiled!

If you've never made a website, you might have not heard of AddThis or ShareThis, but chances are you've encountered them. These services offer the "share" buttons that easily integrates into websites. However, this feature is also used by these companies to track visitors across the web.

Long Read

Puzzle of the Girl with a Pearl Earring painting by Johannes Vermeer

The companies in control of our secret identities

Your personal data can be collected by companies from many different sources and shaped into a "secret identity". This is when companies use information about you to assume your personality traits and predict your behaviour, and sell this profile onto others. But who are the companies behind this practice?

News

23rd September 2021

To Reduce Facebook’s Harms to Teens, Target its Data-Hungry Business Model

16th November 2020

Can we get our internet back now please?

27th October 2020

UK data regulator takes enforcement action to rein in data brokers' use of people's personal data

28th September 2020

International Safe Abortion Day: no safety without privacy

26th August 2020

UN experts report highlights role of private military and security companies in immigration management

18th August 2020

Our response to Google: Privacy isn't a Luxury

Examples of Abuse

Want to know how this translate in the real world? Here is the latest example in the news.

"The Unsuspected Power of Big Data"

Article extract- translated from the original French. "A political big data company with close ties to the federal liberals and which worked on Emmanuel Macron's campaign in France is setting up its head office in Old Montreal to continue its growth and take advantage of Montreal's digital vitality

See more examples of abuse

Our Advocacy

An open letter to TECNO Mobile

A coalition of 11 civil society organisations have called on TECNO to make serious changes to their practices protect users privacy and security.

View more advocacy