No, that’s not just CDD and other privacy advocates warning the public about this. It’s a quote from a panel held this week in Brussels by the “conservative think-tank, the Centre for the New Europe.†Here’s an excerpt of a story that quotes panelist Wayne Arnold from the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) and digital ad agency Profero: “Google is increasingly becoming the dominant player in the digital advertising space in Europe. If the Double Click acquisition goes through, this will provide Google with unrivalled access to consumer data and a foothold in the display media space – an area in which until now they have been relatively weak.â€
The next big thing in online advertising is behavioural targeting, said Mr Arnold. This is a technique whereby advertisers increase the effectiveness of their campaigns by using data collected from someone’s web-browsing behaviour – that is to say, what sites they have been to and what things they have searched for.
The advertiser then uses this information to deliver adverts tailored to the perceived interests of the websurfer. The The Double Click deal will make Google “suddenly the dominant player in behavourial targeting,†said Mr Arnold.â€
source: “Google-Double Click merger raises privacy concerns.” Leigh Phillips. Euobserver.com. 3/7/08.
