Internal emails highlight how an advertising company can use its in-house resources to oppose public policy proposals.
One of the world’s largest advertising firms is crafting a campaign to thwart a California bill intended to enhance people’s control over the data that companies collect on them.
According to emails obtained by POLITICO, the Interpublic Group is coordinating an effort against a bill that would make it easier for people to request that data brokers — firms that collect and sell personal information — delete their dossiers.
Ads themselves are just annoying but tolerable. But we’re talking about targeted marketing. Ad companies keep data on you, the user, so they can squeeze out a bit more money from avertisers. That requires the users’ consent in many parts of the world and ad companies still try to weasel around that. When you don’t want them to have your data, a word from you should be enough. No hidden options, no clicking through a dozen pages, no ifs and whens.