A complaint has been filed against Elon Musk’s X by privacy activist Max Schrems, alleging that the platform breached the European Union’s stringent privacy regulations. The complaint, lodged by Schrems’ campaign group Noyb with the Dutch data protection authority on Thursday, accuses X of using personal data, including political views and religious beliefs, to target individuals with advertisements. According to the complaint, the European Union itself has utilized X for targeting users based on their political and religious orientations.
Schrems claims that an advertisement from the European Commission, which appeared on X, specifically targeted users in the Netherlands and excluded individuals affiliated with certain political segments and far-right politicians. The advertisement, which focused on promoting online content regulation to address issues of child sexual abuse and grooming, reportedly did not target individuals who exhibited euroscepticism or nationalist political views on X. The complaint bases its allegations on the data derived from X’s advertisement repository. X, when contacted for a response by CNBC, was not immediately available for comment. The European Commission, in its response to CNBC’s inquiry, acknowledged awareness of the campaign and stated it was conducting a comprehensive review.
The Commission highlighted its ongoing efforts to ensure adherence to rules by social media managers and external contractors, particularly in light of recent increases in disinformation and hate speech on social media platforms. The Commission also referenced its guidance from October advising services to refrain from advertising on X at this stage. Under the EU’s Digital Services Act, a significant content regulation law, platforms like X are prohibited from displaying targeted advertisements based on sensitive user data. The complaint further outlines that X employs “microtargeting” to customize content for users, a practice that involves using data on users’ clicking behavior and responses.
The complaint mentions the use of microtargeting by Cambridge Analytica during the 2016 U.S. presidential election to influence voter behavior, drawing parallels to the alleged practices on X. The filing raises significant concerns about the use of personal data for advertising purposes and the compliance of social media platforms with EU data protection laws.
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