25-05-2025
ICCL to take case against Microsoft over advertising system
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) said it will apply to the High Court today to launch a class action lawsuit against Microsoft over its "real-time bidding" (RTB) advertising system.
RTB is the process of auctioning advertising space as people browse online.
The ICCL said the system involves broadcasting private information about internet users and has described it as a breach of users' data privacy.
The council said that Microsoft's RTB system operates behind the scenes on websites and apps to match advertising to specific people.
The ICCL said it is taking the legal action on behalf of all affected people in Ireland under the new EU Collective Redress Directive.
Dr Johnny Ryan, Director of ICCL's Enforce unit, is leading the case.
"People's intimate secrets such as their relationship, work and financial status are broadcast by Microsoft into the real-time bidding advertising system," Dr Ryan said.
"That system is a black hole of data open to any malicious actor and represents a huge data breach of millions of people's information," he added.
A Microsoft spokesperson said the company intends to respond to the ICCL filing through the appropriate legal channels.
