Internet search engine DuckDuckGo, along with other privacy-focused tech companies, have formed a coalition to urge regulators to ban surveillance-based advertising.
As detailed in a blog post by coalition member Mojeek, targeted advertising that depends on pervasive tracking is the unfortunate norm today, and that has led to major problems for consumers and businesses.
For consumers, surveillance-based advertising leads to the creation of profiles of individuals with which unscrupulous companies can exploit to their advantage. In business, abusive companies with anti-competitive behavior via targeted advertising can lead to revenue loss for well-meaning companies.
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The coalition acknowledges the role of advertising in generating revenue for content creators and publishers. They do, however, believe advertising can be done without tracking.
The coalition has sent a letter to US, EU, UK and Australian regulators to take action against surveillance-based advertising.
Other companies in the coalition include Vivaldi Technologies, Disconnect Inc, Kobler, and Mailfence.