Online behavioural advertising: are Irish privacy laws in need of 're-Phorm'?

摘要

The words of James Rachels have a strong resonance with the basis of the right to privacy in Irish law. Privacy is an aspect of one's social existence. It has at its core the recognition of the values of freedom, individuality and autonomy. Irish constitu tional law has accepted a conception of privacy as a sophisti cated relational right securing and protecting one's 'dignity and autonomy as a socially situated individual.' Irish law recognises that the lives of individuals and their commu nities are 'integrated'. The freedom to integrate and partici pate 'in the spread of ideas and in the creation of meanings' helps individuals to grow and develop into mature participants in society and this consequently helps to shape positively commu nities and wider society. As we are social beings, maintaining privacy becomes an ongoing balancing exercise between indivi dual and social values. The digital age and associated technologies greatly expand the possibilities for individual participation in society. They make possible interaction in forms and on a scale previously unthinkable. But the digital age and its associated techno logy have made data 'collection and processing extraordina rily efficient'. New methods of monetising internet traffic and tapping into the incredibly rich click-stream of online activity mean that surveillance has become big business online. Online behavioural advertising is a business model that is primarily based on the surveillance of a user's online activities. One company, Phorm, has received much media attention due to methods of delivering online behavioural advertising."