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The adtech/data broker business is still very lively in EU. The last time I read into it a year or two ago the consensus seemed to be the privacy gains over the

by dmix 14d ago

The adtech/data broker business is still very lively in EU. The last time I read into it a year or two ago the consensus seemed to be the privacy gains over the last decade have been modest at best. There was a few big name trackers that were forced to narrow data collection but the general ad/location tracking and data broker business is still mostly the same. https://arxiv.org/abs/2411.06862 https://arxiv.org/abs/2411.06862 https://netzpolitik.org/2025/databroker-files-targeting-the-eu/ https://netzpolitik.org/2025/databroker-files-targeting-the-...

buzer 14d ago
There are multiple reasons for it. One of the major issues is that some DPAs pretty refuse to enforce GDPR (e.g. DPC in Ireland). Hopefully the changes to cross-border enforcement that are coming in force next year will help with this as it at least has some deadlines unlike currently. Another issue is that controllers generally do not need to change their behavior before the final lawful decision which can take a lot of time to go through the court system, especially if it needs CJEU referral. And once the decision comes in force they can often make small changes and restart the whole process. Also another issue is that DPAs do not often initiate the investigations themselves (unless breach is involved), they only happen at the request of data subjects and not that many people bother making complaints or follow them up. Just yesterday I had to follow up with 9 page reply to the controller's response to the DPA inquiry. Additionally ePD and GDPR enforcement is sometimes split between different agencies. In those cases GDPR agency tends to wait for ePD case to be solved before investigating the GDPR aspects, often because the ePD consent validity will affects e.g. GDPR legal basis analysis.
thih9 14d ago
Perhaps, perhaps not. Big trackers reducing data collection is a win in my book. OpenAI is not doing ad personalization for the EU customers. There are no Flock cameras. It’s an ongoing fight for sure but it’s some fight at least.
singularity2001 14d ago
Do the big guys sell to the small guys? Like if I'm a shady small company trying to buy as much information as I can about a certain user, will I freely get the data from X and Facebook and Google?

by dmix 14d ago

buzer 14d ago

There are multiple reasons for it. One of the major issues is that some DPAs pretty refuse to enforce GDPR (e.g. DPC in Ireland). Hopefully the changes to cross-border enforcement that are coming in force next year will help with this as it at least has some deadlines unlike currently. Another issue is that controllers generally do not need to change their behavior before the final lawful decision which can take a lot of time to go through the court system, especially if it needs CJEU referral. And once the decision comes in force they can often make small changes and restart the whole process. Also another issue is that DPAs do not often initiate the investigations themselves (unless breach is involved), they only happen at the request of data subjects and not that many people bother making complaints or follow them up. Just yesterday I had to follow up with 9 page reply to the controller's response to the DPA inquiry. Additionally ePD and GDPR enforcement is sometimes split between different agencies. In those cases GDPR agency tends to wait for ePD case to be solved before investigating the GDPR aspects, often because the ePD consent validity will affects e.g. GDPR legal basis analysis.

thih9 14d ago

Perhaps, perhaps not. Big trackers reducing data collection is a win in my book. OpenAI is not doing ad personalization for the EU customers. There are no Flock cameras. It’s an ongoing fight for sure but it’s some fight at least.

singularity2001 14d ago

Do the big guys sell to the small guys? Like if I'm a shady small company trying to buy as much information as I can about a certain user, will I freely get the data from X and Facebook and Google?