EUROPEAN AUTHORITIES are to investigate consumer profiling by online advertisers amid allegations by senior EU officials that “basic rights in terms of transparency, control and risk” are being violated.

Officials say an informal consultation will be launched to collect evidence from consumers and industry on the information commercial websites are collecting and how it is being used.

It could result in new controls on online advertisers, internet service providers and networking sites.

EU officials are particularly concerned by the growing use of “deep-packet inspection” technologies that allow broadband providers to track online activity even after consumers have tried to control the use of cookies – which allow websites to monitor browsing history patterns.

Meglena Kuneva, EU consumer commissioner, will claim this week that the “terms and conditions” which consumers must accept to access commercial websites frequently breach privacy standards.

“Consumers are in fact paying for services with their personal data and their exposure to ads. This amounts to a new kind of commercial exchange,” she will say.

EU officials claim that people are often unaware of what data is being collected about them, and how it is being used.

And even if they want to opt out, it may be virtually impossible to do so.

Targeted advertising is commonly used by many internet advertisers and publishers, including AOL and Yahoo.

Google, which dominates search engine advertising, recently entered the behavioural targeting market and says it provides greater privacy controls and transparency for its users than rival systems.

“We cannot afford foot dragging,” Ms Kuneva will say in a speech.

“If we fail to see an adequate response to consumers’ concerns on the issue of data collection and profiling, we will not shy away from our duties.”

Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the world wide web, has condemned deep-packet inspection as “snooping”.

Ms Kuneva will also point to the recent uproar over proposed changes to terms and conditions at Facebook, under which users would have allowed the social networking site to use their content, even after this had been deleted from their accounts.

A privacy advocate group threatened to file a formal complaint and Facebook subsequently dropped the proposed changes. – ( Financial Timesservice)