The European Parliament blocks personalized advertising from Facebook and Google

The amendment was included in the EU's annual competition report. Meanwhile, Tik Tok adheres to the European code of conduct on disinformation (Photo by Mustafa Murat Kaynak / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) The European Parliament, Thursday 18 June, voted with an overwhelming majority (503 out of 701) on a measure that prohibits personalized advertising on the internet. The amendment, included in the EU's annual competition report, is based on a proposal by socialist MP Paul Tang. “This is a significant move against the overwhelming power of the web giants. These companies continue to use our personal data to make profits and exclude competing companies, "explained the Dutch MEP.

Facebook and Google - who have made user profiling and personalized ads their main model business - they will no longer be able to use the personal data of their members to carry out targeting operations and carve out a position of absolute dominance in the digital market compared to other competing companies. “For the big technological giants, personal data are considered an exchange commodity. It is a harmful model that interferes with our privacy, ”Tang stressed again. Several Italian MEPs voted in favor of the proposal, with the exception of those from the League.

Tik Tok, and the european code on misinformation

The european Union, these days, can also boast another important result: Tik Tok has decided to adhere to the european code of conduct on misinformation , agreeing to apply a series of measures that restrict the dissemination of false information and dangerous online . “To prevent the spread of misinformation online, the cooperation and the transparency of the sector are fundamental and we are proud to do our part, joining to the company which apply the european code,” he pointed out Theo Bertram, director of team relations and public policy in Europe for Tik Tok. In fact, together with the social founded by the chinese society ByteDance there are also Google, Facebook, Twitter and Modzilla . All of these platforms, adhering to the code, commit themselves to provide monthly reports which are explained in a detailed manner the measures adopted to detect and block fake news online and the results achieved through the application of these measures.

The decision of Tik Tok is a step really meaningful in the fight against misinformation, especially in the period of the pandemic. Although it is considered to be a social, purely adolescent, at the beginning of this year, exceeded 2 billion downloads , proving himself as one of the largest online platforms. Edima, the commercial organization that is in charge of it policy for the European Union, explained that the basin of the users who has access to the app, makes it Tik Tok-one of the most important operators of the sector. As stated by the director of Edima Siada El Ramly : “This decision shows that the big tech companies take seriously their responsibility and are ready to do their part. The Code of conduct on the misinformation is the most effective means to ensure the commitment of these companies in the field of misinformation online.”