Using a search engine on a mobile handset makes available a larger amount of personal data, allowing for easier identification and location of a user. Specifically, by matching the information collected by search engines and the particular data collected by Telecom networks, "it is possible to have a very accurate profile of a user, namely in terms of localisation," warned Giovanni Buttarelli, secretary general of the Italian Data Protection Authority, after a meeting in the EU Parliament on privacy and the Internet yesterday (28 May).
He expressed his "concern" over potential new scenarios foreseeable due to mobile Internet and reminded search engine operators that they have to abide by the principles set in an opinion issued by EU Privacy regulators last April. The text invites search engines to ask users' permission to collect private data to be used to offer personalised advertisements on the Internet (see EurActiv 09/04/08).
The EU's increasingly cautious stance on Internet privacy may have significant consequences for the thriving targeted ads market, developed by search engines by compiling detailed knowledge of their users.
Search (or targeted) ads represent around 45% of the online advertising market in the EU and 40% in the US, comparing to around 30% in both areas for display ads and lower percentages for email advertising. The entire market for online advertising already has an estimated value of around 25 billion euros worldwide, an impressive figure considering that the first Internet banner only appeared in 1994, according to figures from the Milan-based Bicocca University.
Google is the dominant player by far, controlling the largest market share both for search and display ads. The recent acquisition of DoubleClick further strengthened its position in the online advertising market, yet was considered to comply with competition rules by both EU and US regulators (see EurActiv 12/03/08).
European citizens are also becoming more concerned about the use of personal information on the Internet. 82% of European Internet users have little trust in personal data management over the Web, according to a recent Eurobarometer poll (see EurActiv 18/04/08).
Another poll issued yesterday shows that in Italy, France, Germany and the UK, 83% of the people interviewed consider it inappropriate for a company to collect a wide variety of detailed personal information on a user. Another 93% said that this information should not in any case be used for targeted ads.
The poll was carried out from a sample of 150 citizens per country in spring 2008 by ICOMP (Initiative for a Competitive Online Marketplace), an advocacy forum sponsored by Microsoft.
