The targeted advertising method used on the Internet raises privacy concerns as it relies on the collection, use and sharing of consumers’ personal data.
According to the compilation he made from the “Online Advertising Industry Review Preliminary Report” prepared by the Competition Authority, the rapid development of information technologies and the increasing use of the internet in recent years have increased the transition from traditional advertising to online advertising.
Interaction-oriented advertisements started to be used depending on features such as the history and tastes of users whose digital footprints are followed on the Internet.
Internet advertising continued to evolve and expand in a variety of ways, through email, pop-up ads, search engines, social media, and content provider websites.
In Turkey, online advertising has surpassed all traditional advertising channels with the growth rate it has achieved in recent years. By 2021, online advertising surpassed television advertising to become the medium with the highest share of advertising expenditures.
Advertising in this area has come to the fore as social media platforms provide data about users’ tastes, interests and connections with other users, and users spend a lot of time on these platforms.
Google and Meta have data advantage due to user counts
According to the report, it was observed that Facebook, Instagram and YouTube are the most frequently used applications in Turkey and serve a dominant user base when compared to their competitors.
Considering factors such as the number of users that stand out compared to Google and Meta’s competitors and the length of time these users spend on the platforms of these two enterprises, the relevant platforms can create detailed profiles of users based on sensitive personal information such as family, education, work, political interests and hobbies. formed was determined. It was concluded that the profiling capabilities of these platforms are further strengthened by the data they collect through third-party websites or applications, thus they have a significant data advantage compared to other publishers in the industry.
Users are concerned about the use of their data
With targeted advertising implemented on the Internet, advertisers aim to address the right target audience, at the right time, with the right content, and to create a customer community that is loyal to their brands.
Targeted advertising raises consumer privacy concerns as it relies on the collection, use and sharing of personal data.
Personalized advertisements applied on the Internet are defined as advertisements that require the processing of the consumer’s personal data. These ads are based on a profile about them compiled from information such as users’ browsing history and location. Personalized targeting uses specific data such as a user’s hobby, interests and character, and such data is determined from search history and other online activities.
According to the report, consumers were also surveyed in this direction as part of the industry review.
In the survey, most of the users expressed their concerns about the use of data collected online. However, despite their concerns about how their data is used, 41.5 percent of respondents said they have never read the privacy policies, and nearly half of those who said they did read them said they did not understand the terms of service and privacy policies. It was also determined that a small number of users chose to change the privacy options selected during registration on the website or application later.
Online advertising is sustained by monetizing data collected from users. This data serves the purpose of providing targeted advertising to consumers, as well as being used in the development and improvement of the product or service.
Consumers can share their data for use in personalized advertising, through a process they are not aware of or have control over. This tends to raise privacy concerns regarding the potential misuse of consumers’ personal data. Because of this, there are privacy concerns.
It can have negative consequences for competition
Online advertising creates a unique opportunity for the industry to tailor it to reflect consumers’ interests or needs. For this reason, while the use of personalized advertising has increased significantly in recent years, it is seen as an effective way to reach the target audience.
According to the findings in the report, the fact that the terms of use of personal data are largely determined by the platforms themselves, rather than by consumers, may have negative consequences in terms of both consumer welfare and competition. In this sense, it is important for social welfare to establish an optimal balance between the benefits and harms of targeted advertising.
