Online advertising: These three policy ideas could stop tech amplifying hate

The relationship between the spread of harmful content and the business models that fund it is a preoccupation for many policymakers today. Political momentum is building around the idea that banning ‘surveillance advertising’ could be the answer. This has translated into a variety of different proposals being discussed by MEPs as they prepare their response to the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA). When it comes to tackling the biggest digital threats to democracy, our analysis suggests that some of these proposals look more promising than others. We conclude that there are three policy ideas which could potentially have a significant impact – but more work is needed to develop them into something which can be built into future legislation in a meaningful way.