Bill Unveiled to Ban Online “Surveillance Advertising”

This past Tuesday, Democrats introduced a new bill that will ban digital advertising targeting on ad markets hosted by platforms like Facebook, Google and other data brokers. (According to The Verge) The Banning Surveillance Advertising Act prohibits digital advertisers from targeting any ads to users. It makes only small exceptions, like allowing for “broad” location-based targeting and if there are advertisements specifically matched to online content it would be allowed

            Eshoo, the bill’s lead sponsor said in a Tuesday comment that “This pernicious practice allows online platforms to chase user engagement at great cost to our society, and it fuels disinformation, discrimination, voter suppression, privacy abuses, and so many other harms.” They argue that the tech industry’s current advertising models incentivize the spread of harmful content and encourage them to amplify damaging posts to keep users on their platform. Not only that but Sen. Booker said on the same day that “The hoarding of people’s personal data not only abuses privacy, but also drives the spread of misinformation, domestic extremism, racial division, and violence.”

            There has been discussion for years on how to best regulate the tech industry in the senate and congress, so it’s a relief to many to hear this news pushing forward in preventative measures for peoples safety and security. It all began with Facebook whistle blower Frances Haugen, and since then bills have been put forth to regulate the internet with more vigour than ever before. An example of this would be last October when House Democrats unveiled a measure that would strip away a platform’s Section 230 liability protections if their algorithms were found to have recommended harmful content to users.

            Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) sates “we know (the algorithm) chooses the growth of its products over the well-being of our children.”