Presentation
Following Fidzup, Teemo, and Singlesport, companies specializing in targeted advertising using trackers, it is now the turn of the startup Vectaury to be subject to an investigation by the CNIL (French Data Protection Authority). On November 9, 2018, the CNIL issued a formal notice to Vectaury, accusing it of using smartphone user data without the users’ explicit consent.
GDPR & CNIL: Analyzing your data for targeted advertising
Numerous mobile applications invisibly include data analyzers that link users’ online and offline activity. The uses of these applications are quite varied, allowing for the collection of information such as the number of users, how users interact with the application, and more.
These trackers also enable targeted advertising and the compilation of various data points, such as online activity, location data, and the applications used, to refine user profiles.
Météo France, Le Monde, Allociné, and Caisse d’Epargne are just a few examples of companies that analyze, through their applications, the pages visited within the application, the sequence of visits, the time spent on each page, the connected IP address, and so on. The CNIL (French Data Protection Authority) has published an educational document explaining the implications of such practices for internet users and the associated risks.
Personal data: Mandatory consent
As reminded by the CNIL (French Data Protection Authority), companies operating this type of software are required to clearly indicate the content of the information collected and obtain the consent of their users. This formal notice highlights the CNIL’s graduated response, offering Vectaury a three-month period to comply with the requirements for obtaining consent and deleting the improperly collected data, failing which a penalty may be imposed.
