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posted by janrinok on Thursday December 15 2016, @02:21AM   Printer-friendly
from the reining-in-the-advertisers dept.

Unlike the US, the EU has some fairly strict privacy laws. Anyone wishing to operate commercially in Europe has to comply with these regulations, but that is not resting easy with the (mainly) US organisations who feel that this will adversely affect their ability to use user's private data in order to target them with relevant advertisements. The EU wants to make it necessary, amongst other changes, for users to opt in to browser data tracking rather than the present opt-out.

Google, Facebook and other online advertising businesses face strict new privacy rules from Brussels on the ways they can track people online.

The new rules would compel websites and browsers, such as Google Chrome, to switch from a default of allowing users to opt out of online advertising to asking them to opt in to view adverts based on their browsing history, according to a leaked draft of new proposals from the European Commission.

The EU's executive arm will also tighten its regulatory grip over services such as WhatsApp and Skype as part of a sweeping overhaul of the bloc's "ePrivacy" directive, which dictates everything from online tracking to marketing emails.

Not unsurprisingly, the online advertisers are claiming that such a move will signal the end of the internet:

"This is very concerning — it's putting at risk the entire internet as we know it," said Yves Schwarzbart, head of policy and regulatory affairs at the Internet Advertising Bureau in the UK. "Our number one concern is asking for prior permission. Advertising is the funding model of the internet, and helps publishers create better content. That whole model could be undermined."

Instead, web advertising groups will be forced to rely on internet browsers encouraging as many people as possible to opt in. "It is a big deal to opt in for the first time, but once you have done it — then you are good to go," said Eduardo Ustaran, a partner specialising in data protection at Hogan Lovells.

Furthermore:

[...] In a boon to the telecoms industry, operators will be able to use customer metadata, including when and to whom a call was made, in order to provide "value added services" such as advertising.

As part of the overhaul, rules around cookie warnings — the unpopular pop-up boxes that show when a website is tracking a user — will also be relaxed. Websites that use cookies to monitor things such as the number of visitors will not be required to warn users.


[Editor's Note: Substantially rewritten to meet SN submission guidelines]

Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by Aiwendil on Thursday December 15 2016, @09:30AM

    by Aiwendil (531) on Thursday December 15 2016, @09:30AM (#441549) Journal

    it's putting at risk the entire internet as we know it

    As someone who came to online discussions via BBSes and FidoNet and to internet due to IRC and usenet I would welcome ending internet as we currently know it.

    I kinda miss the days when you were more likely to hit information than fluff, when people wrote stuff instead if posted videos, and when content was't pulled in via javascript.

    Quite frankly - today's internet is boring. It is the equivalent to replacing a library with a cafe that has some books on a hidden shelf.

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  • (Score: 2) by jelizondo on Thursday December 15 2016, @07:17PM

    by jelizondo (653) Subscriber Badge on Thursday December 15 2016, @07:17PM (#441727) Journal

    Agree with you but you left out two very annoying things: 1) a lot of stuff is taken from other websites (or distributed to multiple websites) making difficult to search for particular content and 2) many sites (outside Europe) require you to register before showing any content.

    Just a couple of days ago I was looking for a company but my guess at what their website name would be was wrong, in searching I got a lot of local directories, aggregators and other fluff before the actual website, even when I was using the correct company name.

    As to number 2, to hell with them. I would either used cached content (via Google or Internet Archive) or find some other site.

    They tell you that without ad revenue no content would be posted. Wrong. I have maintained for over 20 years a website with stuff I find interesting and I do not care to advertise it or to force people to watch ads if they find the site.

    Yes, death to the current Internet.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 15 2016, @10:09PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 15 2016, @10:09PM (#441813)

      You're forgetting that the snowflake generation expects to be paid for their private hobbies as seen on Kickstarter and co.