Annotatie bij HvJ EU 1 oktober 2019 (Planet 49) external link
Annotaties, cookies, frontpage, Persoonsgegevens
Keyword: cookies
Het prinsesje op de erwt en de tovenaarsleerling external link
cookies, frontpage, Persoonsgegevens, Privacy, reclame, websites
Bibtex
Online Price Discrimination and EU Data Privacy Law external link
Abstract
Online shops could offer each website customer a different price. Such personalized pricing can lead to advanced forms of price discrimination based on individual characteristics of consumers, which may be provided, obtained, or assumed. An online shop can recognize customers, for instance through cookies, and categorize them as price-sensitive or price-insensitive. Subsequently, it can charge (presumed) price-insensitive people higher prices. This paper explores personalized pricing from a
legal and an economic perspective. From an economic perspective, there are valid arguments in favour of price discrimination, but its effect on total consumer welfare is ambiguous. Irrespectively, many people regard personalized pricing as unfair or
manipulative. The paper analyses how this dislike of personalized pricing may be linked to economic analysis and to other norms or values. Next, the paper examines whether European data protection law applies to personalized pricing. Data protection law applies if personal data are processed, and this paper argues that that is generally the case when prices are personalized. Data protection law requires companies to be transparent about the purpose of personal data processing, which implies that they must inform customers if they personalize prices. Subsequently, consumers have to give consent. If enforced, data protection law could thereby play a significant role in mitigating any adverse effects of personalized pricing. It could help to unearth how prevalent personalized pricing is and how people respond to transparency about it.
Links
behavioural targeting, cookies, Data protection law, frontpage, General Data Protection Regulation, personalized communication, Price discrimination
Bibtex
Singling out people without knowing their names – Behavioural targeting, pseudonymous data, and the new data protection regulation external link
Abstract
Information about millions of people is collected for behavioural targeting, a type of marketing that involves tracking people’s online behaviour for targeted advertising. It is hotly debated whether data protection law applies to behavioural targeting. Many behavioural targeting companies say that, as long as they do not tie names to data they hold about individuals, they do not process any personal data, and that, therefore, data protection law does not apply to them. European Data Protection Authorities, however, take the view that a company processes personal data if it uses data to single out a person, even if it cannot tie a name to these data. This paper argues that data protection law should indeed apply to behavioural targeting. Companies can often tie a name to nameless data about individuals. Furthermore, behavioural targeting relies on collecting information about individuals, singling out individuals, and targeting ads to individuals. Many privacy risks remain, regardless of whether companies tie a name to the information they hold about a person. A name is merely one of the identifiers that can be tied to data about a person, and it is not even the most practical identifier for behavioural targeting. Seeing data used to single out a person as personal data fits the rationale for data protection law: protecting fairness and privacy.
behavioural targeting, cookies, Data protection law, IP addresses, online behavioural advertising, Personal data, Privacy, profiling, pseudonymous data, tracking
Bibtex
Online Price Discrimination and Data Protection Law external link
Abstract
Online shops can offer each website customer a different price – a practice called first degree price discrimination, or personalised pricing. An online shop can recognise a customer, for instance through a cookie, and categorise the customer as a rich or a poor person. The shop could, for instance, charge rich people higher prices. From an economic perspective, there are good arguments in favour of price discrimination. But many regard price discrimination as unfair or manipulative. This paper examines whether European data protection law applies to personalised pricing. Data protection law applies if personal data are processed. This paper argues that personalised pricing generally entails the processing of personal data. Therefore, data protection law generally applies to personalised pricing. That conclusion has several implications. For instance, data protection law requires a company to inform people about the purpose of processing their personal data. A company must inform customers if it personalises prices.
Consumer law, cookies, Data protection law, discrimination, Grondrechten, Personal data, personalised prices, Price discrimination, Privacy, tracking
Bibtex
Behavioural Sciences and the Regulation of Privacy on the Internet external link
Abstract
This chapter examines the policy implications of behavioural sciences insights for the regulation of privacy on the Internet, by focusing in particular on behavioural targeting. This marketing technique involves tracking people’s online behaviour to use the collected information to show people individually targeted advertisements. Enforcing data protection law may not be enough to protect privacy in this area. I argue that, if society is better off when certain behavioural targeting practices do not happen, policymakers should consider banning them.
behavioural economics, behavioural targeting, cookies, Data protection, e-Privacy Directive, Grondrechten, nudge, nudging, Privacy, profiling, tracking