Opting for unlawful collection and processing of ‘hundred of millions’ of internet users, three privacy experts are suing Oracle. The petitioners want damages for ‘financial, dignitary, reputational, and relational damages’ suffered at the hands of Oracle and an order restraining Oracle from continuing its ‘unlawful’ conduct.
Plaintiffs in the North California District Court filed on August 19th accompanied by a class-action lawsuit, Axon said that the company’s business conduct constitutes ‘the intentional and purposeful tracking of the population through their digital and online presence’.
The petition also states most personal data is collected by data brokers like Oracle and then used in ‘adtech’, which this mass of information is processed and individual selected to be subjected to ‘targeted advertising’ or other commercial and political exploitation.
Nonetheless, the users remain ignorant of the fact that by using Oracle, their activities in the cyberspace in addition to their personal information and data are being captured, analyzed and sold by the integrated covert program.
To users, non-consensual data processing and collection remain disrespectful invasions of privacy which compromise the user’s control over the distribution of their personal information, and despite this model making Oracle many billions, it is.
Why it matters: It is evident that ad-tech is mainly regarded as extremely pernicious—it is a method of user profiling, provides advantages to monopolist advertisers, and mercilessly violates an individual’s right to privacy.
This has paved the way to several efforts around the global to transition to a privacy by design ad-tech system. Or, at the very least, to blast non-consensual ad-tech profiling, as this lawsuit does successfully.
This is not the first time data brokering is being criticized in the United States of America.
Senator Ron Wyden form Democrat from Oregon has insisted in the past that ‘data brokers are acting like slime ball middlemen selling [consumers]’ data with no form of legally required consumer protections’ and has called on the Consumer Financial Protection bureau to do something about it.
Also Read About
