On Wednesday 19 July, ten MEPs from the S&D, Greens/EFA, Renew Europe and The Left groups asked the European Commission for a moratorium on the tracing of online users within the EU.
The request made by MEPs, including the former rapporteur for the Digital Services Act (DSA) (see EUROPE 13221/33), Christel Schaldemose (S&D, Danish), comes after the Norwegian Data Protection Authority imposed a temporary ban on behaviour-based marketing on Facebook and Instagram on 17 July (see EUROPE 13224/31). This three-month ban will take effect on 4 August.
The signatories of the document would like the Commission to follow in the footsteps of the Norwegian Data Protection Authority. They also want the Commission to give more details on how it will apply the rules relating to the Digital Services Act, which includes a set of provisions aimed at limiting marketing based on online behaviour.
This group of MEPs - who are part of a coalition to ensure that advertising is not based on tracing methods - actively lobbied for a ban on this type of practice during the inter-institutional negotiations on the DSA/DMA package (see EUROPE 13215/3). The compromise reached by the co-legislators includes a ban on advertising based on sensitive data such as sexual, political or ethnic orientation or religion, and on the profiling of minors (see EUROPE 12938/6). (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)