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Internet: Privacy

Volume 494: debated on Monday 15 June 2009

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make an assessment of the likely effects on the privacy of individuals of (a) Google's use of personal information in its online advertising and search functions and (b) the model for targeted online advertising used by Phorm and other companies. (276980)

I have been asked to reply.

All providers of behavioural advertising have to comply with UK laws.

The Internet Advertising Bureau (the IAB), the UK trade association, has developed with Members a set of principles on the use of data to provide online behavioural advertising (OBA) to safeguard individual privacy. They are public commitments of good practice made by the signatory Members to users.

They are based on three core principles—notice about data collection, user choice as to whether to participate and education about behavioural advertising and its benefits—with the goal of building trust and understanding in OBA and enhancing users' ability to control the use of information for these purposes.

The principles address a broader scope than required under existing law, by covering the use of all information used for OBA, both anonymous information and personal data (in the United Kingdom, the latter is primarily addressed by the Data Protection Act 1998, as amended, and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003). They also consider where special care is needed for certain categories of data, such as personally identifiable information or sensitive data.

Signatories of the Good Practice Principles include Google and Phorm.