Hey there --

One year ago today, we launched a transatlantic coalition of 50+ groups fighting for an end to Big Tech's toxic business model of surveillance advertising.

Surveillance advertising is the practice of extensively tracking and profiling individuals and groups, and then microtargeting ads at them based on their behavioral history, relationships, and identity.

This business model fuels the spread of misinformation, extremism, hate, and discrimination on and offline by incentivizing content that keeps us hooked for as long as possible in order to target us with ads.

The idea of banning surveillance advertising was once considered a radical proposal, but in the past year we’ve moved it into the mainstream. Check out our thread on Twitter to see all we have to be proud of from this past year, including…

• Working with Senator Cory Booker, Representatives Jan Schakowsky and Anna Eshoo to introduce the landmark bicameral Banning Surveillance Advertising Act.


• President Biden calling on Congress in his State of the Union address to “ban targeted advertising to children” and “hold social media platforms accountable for the national experiment they’re conducting on our children for profit.”


• Filing a rulemaking petition with the Federal Trade Commission to ban surveillance advertising as an unfair method of competition.


• Propelling bold legislation in the European Union Parliament to ban targeted ads for minors in the Digital Services Act.

If you’re on Twitter, please share our thread so more people can join the fight to ban surveillance advertising.

We couldn’t have gotten this far without your support. Let’s make this next year even better.

Thanks,

Nicole

Nicole Gill
Co-founder & Executive Director
Accountable Tech

We see the irony of asking you to take action on the same platforms we’re fighting to hold accountable, but they are… well… dominant. We have to reach people where they are in order to level the playing field -- and we’re ready to bring the fight right to their own platforms.