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SINCE THE RISE of Brussels as a political power centre over the last two decades, corporate lobbies have colonised large parts of the Belgian capital’s European district, home to the EU institutions.
Estimates of the number of lobbyists in Brussels range from 20-30,000 people working the corridors of policy-making, the vast majority for business associations and corporations.
Currently, the focal point for corporate lobbying is the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), a proposed EU-US trade deal covering a wide range of policy areas, from banking to pharmaceuticals regulation, data protection rules to pesticides.
The “Investor-State Dispute Settlement” (ISDS) chapter of TTIP is of grave concern and captured significant public attention during 2015. Under ISDS, corporations will acquire legal rights to challenge democratic decisions when they consider that such decisions jeopardise profits.
Getting rid of different regulations
But TTIP also involves proposals for “regulatory cooperation”.
This aims to dismantle differences in regulation between the EU and US and prevent new ones from emerging.
Public interest regulations – such as proposals to improve consumer rights, environmental or labour standards – would thus have to go through lengthy procedures, including vetting by business for possible impacts on trade.
The yawn-inducing name is part of what makes it so dangerous.
Indeed, lack of attention to regulatory cooperation in the EU-US talks has enabled those who would rather not engage in public debate on the issues to spread reassuring, inaccurate messages.
EU leaders and member states, including the Irish government, sell regulatory cooperation as a way to simply cut proverbial “red tape”. But it’s much more serious than that.
A report released today by Brussels-based lobby watchdog Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) and Berlin research group LobbyControl shows that, from the beginning of transatlantic regulatory cooperation in the 1990s, the European Commission and US government have been eager to include big business at the centre of decision-making.
They even helped set up the Transatlantic Business Dialogue (TABD), a club of CEOs from the biggest European and American companies, to advise officials on trade and investment issues.
TABD member companies include Deutsche Bank, PWC and British American Tobacco.
Influential over the years
The TABD would become very influential over the years, and senior bureaucrats made it a habit to thoroughly consult with this business lobby group in order to frame the transatlantic agenda.
In 2002, the EU adopted new rules to ensure transnational financial sector corporations no longer escaped European capital adequacy rules.
US companies in the sector would thus have to be supervised in Europe, and abide by EU rules on capital requirements. This idea sent shivers down spines in Wall Street and big bankers raised the issue with the US government, who took it up with the EU.
Under regulatory cooperation, dialogues were launched to align transatlantic rules.
The upshot was that US banks were able to operate in the EU without significant European monitoring. When the financial crisis broke, it quickly became clear that supervisors knew very little about the European side of account books of US financial corporations.
This was certainly true in the case of infamous investment bank Lehman Brothers and insurance giant AIG, whose financial products division was based in London.
The conglomerate’s demise in September 2008 was a key moment in the crisis.
The same process also helped to hamper action on animal testing in the 1990s, when the EU sought to ban the marketing of cosmetics tested on animals. US authorities immediately started putting pressure on the Europeans to scrap the idea, calling it a trade barrier, and threatening a complaint at the World Trade Organisation.
Interference in EU politics
The TABD got involved well before the proposal was even presented to any elected assembly. It made its opposition clear, saying the ban would seriously impact EU-US trade. Despite intense pressure, the European Parliament voted for the ban in 2002, condemning inappropriate interference in EU politics by the US.
However, concessions were made on the timeline, so the marketing ban would only come into force in 2009, two decades after the initial decision was made. US industry had wanted the law buried entirely, but they did manage to secure a remarkable delay.
Other examples included in the CEO/LobbyControl report explain how regulatory cooperation impacted data protection, rules to tackle hazardous electronic waste, ozone depleting substances and aviation emissions.
Most ominously, all these scenarios unfolded when regulatory cooperation was based on voluntary guidelines within weak institutional structures. Under TTIP, all that is set to change, as the same corporate lobbyists use the talks to enshrine such procedures into the policy-making rulebook.
Its advocates routinely assert that this cornerstone of TTIP will not lead to lower standards or protections – experience of regulatory cooperation tells a different story.
David Lundy works for Corporate Europe Observatory, an NGO based in Brussels that works to expose and challenge the power of corporate lobbies over EU policy. Corporate Europe Observatory is a research and campaign group.
At last a story in irish media about ttip.
Surprised it was allowed to be published
The EU has admitted that TTIP will probably cause unemployment as jobs switch to the US, where labour standards and trade union rights are weaker. It has even advised EU members to draw on European support funds to compensate for the expected unemployment.
I would vote against TTIP, except – we can’t.
We have no say whatsoever in whether TTIP goes through or not.
wrong we have mep’s who vetoed the TTIP and got concessions, we also have meps (all fg) who will not even admit what way they will vote
Kenny wanted this done and dusted by Christmas, thankfully we are not alone in our opposition to such a corporate deal.
imagine an American corporation can sue a state and it is not allowed to be reported in the news? crazy deal by crazy men
Matt Carthy MEP has been at the forefront of the fight against TTIP and he has mentioned that it may require a referendum in Ireland to be accepted.. If it goes to that, I know what way I’ll be voting, regardless of how many times they put it to us!
http://www.europarl.ie/en/news_events/news/press_releases_2014/may_2014/newmeps.html
contact each one of these meps via e mail and ask what their position on TTIP deal is,
guarantee you none from fg will answer, the rest have quite a lot to say against it, just do it, surprise yourself with some of their reactions or deafening silence on the issue
Matt Carthy MEP has been at the forefront of the fight against TTIP and he has mentioned that it may require a referendum in Ireland to be accepted.. If it goes to that, I know what way I’ll be voting, regardless of how many times they put it to us!!!
and fair play to matt carty, just remember what the eu did to Greece for being independent thinkers.
made a financial masacare of the country just when it needed help the most and guess who led the charge against Greece? yes our fat man noonan started the anti greek ball rolling
ya godda love fg for being such good eoropeans, but not in my name!
This thing is pure evil.
Richard Bruton wrote a letter in support of it….
…Demonstrating just how corporate owned that piece of FGael treasonous filth is.
well done david lundy author, hugh will be kicking himself he did not read and approve the article first, half day hugh? at a fg ard fheis? think in? or jobs re announcement, the cats out of the bag!!!!
comment please, how do you feel about the TTIP deal?
Crazy deal by greedy men who have little or no thought of the consequences to the citizens of this country. Ttip needs to be stopped in its tracks
Water privatisation is the first trickle before the floodgates open to the 1%!
A Chara Hugh
As a political editor of a news media outlet, Fine Gael member and frequent audience member and question led contributor on television can you please answer me this, are you in favour of the TTIP deal?
Is Mise
Ciaran
In the following document produced for by the EU, the risks an opportunities are laid out… http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2014/514007/AGRI_IPOL_STU(2014)514007_EN.pdf
Quick attention pointer…page 55-56….(not good for Irish agriculture)
“With no import barrier from a competitive and elastic source of
supply such as that of the US, it is conceivable that imports could reach several million
MT.
This would dent considerably the production of suckler cow-based beef left in the EU.
All this suggests that results from econometric models should be interpreted with caution.
In practice, the removal of tariffs on US beef could lead to trade flows that far exceed what
can be extrapolated from the current flows; because of the inelastic supply coming from
the dairy herd, the consequences on the suckler cow sector could be considerable.
The suckler cow sector is perhaps the one sector in agriculture where there are genuine
positive externalities. Permanent pasture and extensive grazing have been identified as
providing many ecosystem services (for example biodiversity, water management, carbon
storage). From a social standpoint, suckler cow production is concentrated in some
particular regions and Member States (e.g. Ireland, France), in areas with limited
production alternatives, and where the local economy depends a great deal on the livestock
sector and the related industry.”
Also see pages 49-51……you’ll get the idea…
An Irish petition….. I started it but I’m not very good at publicising it. I know there are bigger EU wide petitions but I think individual countries need to make themselves heard too. Could do with a few more signatures!!
Signed Anne :)
good article in the phoenix re families and party ties page 5, jan 15. worth a read
I wonder if the farmers who normally back FG realise they’re about to take a severe kick in their incomes when Enda signs off on TTIP.
This is noting short of Treason.
The yanks can shove their GMO nutrient devoid carcinogenic garbage produce.
@ Al ca
Or that the subsides to go dairy is purely to keep us trucking after Germany and others were pushed towards the beef years ago. Enda ain’t juggling anything he just goes to fetch the ball that rolled under the couch.
A farmer friend of mine a few years ago was pushed to dry stock after years of the unforgiving task of dairy farming….eventually he was running just to stand still between quotas and milk prices. The part sugar beet farming that kept him afloat was thrown under the bus when the Irish Government of the time done a deal to end sugar production…..Greencore cleaned up with the compensation….the farmers got nothing and ended up selling off their machinery to the UK.
With 6.6 million cattle in Ireland, we stand to take a good kicking if the market gets flooded…..hit for direct jobs and related jobs and support industry, rural Ireland could be decimated.
If the idea of certain lobby groups is to undermine the cost of producing high quality of beef due to EU regulations…then the quickest way to do that is to force a drop in standards by allowing cheap US beef to flood the market…but by the time that happens the Irish farmer will be on the dole wondering what the f**k happened.
Fair play, ciaran, no matter anyone’s feelings on this they should still contact their MEP about it. Sometimes these things get blown out of proportion and a minority become vocal – if you believe this is the case, contact them.
If you believe, however, that this is going to have a corporate effect on people’s freedom to make a democratic decision, then you should also express your views. This is democracy at its most accountable.
The TTIP is very dangerous, first highlighted by Jin Corr . Substances classed as detrimental to health but used in the US will be used here. We will see a change in the quality of food. All the Milk in the states has hgh we dont want it here. We don’t want their corn fed cattle meat either. We don’t want them suing us or the govt just because We stop them from making huge profits. The customer will no longer be right. The total jobs for Europe is reckoned around 50,000. Our politicians have never looked after us so we look after ourselves and our future generations. Fight the TTIP.
Amen Bren.
Corr brought up (and still brings up) a lot of valid issues.
Ireland’s state/bilderberger run media propaganda machine tried to rubbish him.
Now his concerns have been proven to have been correct in most cases.
About time for an article on this. Nearly a quarter of a million people marched in Germany against it, and not a dicky bird here. Fine Gael are full square behind. If should be an election issue. I can’t wait for a FG canvasser at the door.
I’ll give you decent odd that if you bring it up with your average FG minion you’ll be meet with a blank stare and a slack jawed “duh, I dunno”.There’s been a concerted effort to keep details surrounding this “deal” away from the general public.
This is not true Hugh Corcoran. There have been marches organise but turnout has been poor unfortunately. I will happily march time & again but bigger numbers are needed. This is such a serious issue – we will lose so much.
It’s long been suspected that governments are nothing more than hand puppets for large multi national corporations. Now it’s pretty much gonna be sealed into law. Corporations rule the roost.
For example. If the democratic will of the people of a nation results in something that a large corporation sees might affect its profits or ability to do business it has the ability to take legal action against said nation. Dangerous stuff indeed.
as said above the action is all done in court behind closed doors ie. no reporting allowed on the case
and fg want this done asap
Honest question, Im not pro or against TTIP as I don’t really understand it.
Does the TTIP provide for additional rights to corporations or does it just give them the opportunity to bring governments to court?
For example if a multinational company like Apple or Google didn’t like a new tax regime brought in in Ireland, TTIP would presumably give them the opportunity to sue the Irish State. But does that necessarily mean they would win the case if TTIP doesn’t give them additional rights.
I have the right to sue my neighbour in the morning if I wished but that doesn’t necessarily mean I would win the case
” not pro or against TTPS” the fact that we are not allowed to know exactly what is being proposed is cause enough to be against this.
The secrecy isn’t there just for the hell of it.
Tweety, it doesn’t matter why a corporation would sue. The fact that they would have the right to do so, would be reflected in government policy with regards corporations in the future. Most corporations have financial resources that governments don’t have. The cost of legal battles alone would influence governments to be very pro corporations when drafting future legislation.
Indeed Jay……you can imagine a scenario where in order to avoid getting sued a Government might decide run a policy idea past an international company first for their approval……or not.
The whole thing is dangerous and puts companies above citizens rights.
corporations would be able to pick and choose which country to attack/sue and not a word in the media allowed
1984 stuff in 2016
I’d rather live in a country run by a multinational corporations than be run by a corrupt, regulation happy, bureaucratic, government.
you still have to buy someone’s crap! at least you get to vote in the latter
“I’d rather live in a country run by a multinational corporations”
That is f***ing ridiculous.
You are a moron Jack
So Jack….you don’t believe in democracy?……you must be a FG’er.
I mean the USA is run by corporations through their lobby groups and North Korea is run by a heavily regulated bureaucratic regime. That’s what I was thinking.
Corporations can be great, if they don’t give us what we want they go out of business. If they give us what we want they make loads of money, everyone wins.
Jack, the recent doc on RTE shows the “lobbying” in this country is purely backhanders and brown envelopes. It is a huge jump to consider Ireland to be on equal ground with The States. In the sense that if similar was created here (backhanders still exist there) we would have the weight to negotiate in the same way.
We are not North Korea…..We exist in the middle somewhere. Drip fed. Only thing we can work towards is somewhere between. Slapping our gob to the feed tube with complete disregard or turning our back to it completely are options we should avoid.
“I’d rather live in a country run by a multinational corporations than be run by a corrupt, regulation happy, bureaucratic, government”
Who do you think runs corrupt, regulation happy, bureaucratic, governments?
It’s a shocking attack on democracy and just highlights how ridiculous the EU is as a set-up. They are not democratically elected to represent our interests yet they enact laws and broker deals with directly impact our daily lives.
I don’t think it is the name but the lack of coverage and explanation of the sneaky bits hidden in it.
Good article though. Kudos.
God it is depressing thank god i have no kids…..what is coming is awful and the poodles in Government would sell thier mother out…..not voting for any of these cretons….
Don’t worry Jonathan. There is an election soon. Just vote for the other guys so they can save us……………….
To this date the public is still not allowed to see the full agreement, under ISDS companies will be allowed to take governments to special courts set up and owned by the companies and all findings by them will be final. Under TTIP / ISDS companies will also be given the same rights as a person, and these are just some of the things we do know about this
Under the terms of the agreement the document won’t be released to the public for 30 years after it is implemented.
TTIP…….it doesn’t have your interest at heart…… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4OQeekSD6s
What effect will TTIP have on job security in Ireland?
Devastating consequences
Clery’s style security. We had a movement in Ireland that could defend against this but the Labour Party has been tactically ruined. Storm clouds are on the horizon.
As far as I know if our employment laws changed for the better eg no more zero hours contracts and a large international company found that this adversely affected their profits then they could sue the state for loss and for future loss. Therefore if we agree to ttip and consequently isds, the government would be slow to change legislation for fear of being sued by international corporations
Yes, all the jobs will go to cheap labour countries meaning more unemployed here but TTIP will bypass Environmental, employment and safety laws, it allows governments, unions, groups and individuals to be sued by companies if they are loosing profits, like cigarette companies could sue over laws against smoking or packaging laws.
We do not have a choice, once Merkel agrees to it then we have no way to prevent this from happening because Merkel can do trade agreements for the E.U. even if it goes against those countries wishes.
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/danielhannan/100241300/whats-the-point-of-a-trade-mission-when-britain-cant-sign-a-trade-agreement/
Liz, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NAFTA%27s_effect_on_United_States_employment#Job_loss
“NAFTA’s opponents attribute much of the displacement caused in the US labor market to the United States’ growing trade deficits with Mexico and Canada. According to the Economic Policy Institute, rise in the trade deficit with Mexico alone since NAFTA was enacted led to the net displacement of 682,900 U.S. jobs by 2010.”
“According to the Economic Policy of Johnsburg Institute’s study, 61% of the net job losses due to trade with Mexico under NAFTA, or 415,000 jobs, were relatively high paying manufacturing jobs”.
“Opponents also argue that the ability for firms to increase capital mobility and flexibility has undermined the bargaining power of U.S. workers. In addition to enjoying lower tariffs for shipping goods from Mexico to the United States, multinational corporations also benefited from NAFTA’s unprecedented section giving multinational corporations the right to sue governments for infringement of “investment rights”.
That will be similar with TTIP…
True Liz….. Egypt decided to raise the minimum wage but are now being taken to court by water giant Veolia who object because it impacts on their profits. Just one a few similar items given in this question to the EU Parliament…. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+WQ+E-2013-014083+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/10/03/quebec-fracking-ban-lawsuit_n_4038173.html
There would be fracking here and no one could even try and prevent that…
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20131004/07500724750/canada-hit-with-another-massive-investor-state-dispute-settlement-demand.shtml
Our employment law would be non-existent without the corresponding EU directives. Particularly in relation to equality/discrimination and part-time workers.
TTIP can get rid of any employment laws if they effect them too badly. I suspect that companies might pollute and pay the fines than pay the amount needed as the fines be cheaper than the cost as the do in the U.S.A. leaving the clean up to the government.
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-discoveries-of-dupont-c8-pollution-in-fayetteville-additional-concerns-raised-over-government-inaction-and-threat-to-drinking-water-55008727.html
http://highline.huffingtonpost.com/articles/en/welcome-to-beautiful-parkersburg/
Vattenfall also sued the German state for phasing out nuclear energy http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/C-Vattenfall-sues-Germany-over-phase-out-policy-16101401.html
The nWo
Egypt raised the minimum wage and were then sued by veolia.
And Veolia already have a foothold here, Mike.
luas and water treatment plants would you believe
So a 700 page document that MEP’s can read but not take out of the E.U. parliament or have any copies of, including having their mobiles confiscated incase they copy it in any form?
It states water services and postal services to be privatised and in the Trade in Service Agreement / TiSA Agreement, hospitals will be privatised like in the U.S. as no insurance means no treatment?
“The Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) is a proposed international trade treaty between 23 Parties, including the European Union and the United States. The agreement aims at liberalizing the worldwide trade of services such as banking, health care and transport”.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_in_Services_Agreement
But that is Wall Street for you, they get companies to leave a country to set up abroad for cheap costs and then everyone wonders why the unemployment figures are so high?
This government was doing that a while ago…
http://www.gaa.ie/gaa-news-and-videos/daily-news/1/0607121657-croke-parkto-host-asia-pacific-ireland-business-forum/
They were getting companies to leave here to set up in Asia and then they complain about a lack of jobs here, whos side is this government on but Merkel pulls all the strings anyway…
“Croke Park will host the Asia Pacific Ireland Business Forum on Friday next July 13 and Taoiseach Enda Kenny will be the key note speaker at this event.
Entitled ‘Asia Now – Maximising Current Business Opportunities for Irish Companies’ the forum provides an unrivalled network for Irish companies doing business in Asia.”
At the time the News reported that it was an opportunity for Irish companies to set up there and manufacture there as manufacturing was Irelands past, it is all 20 something college students hitting keyboards with their knuckles now… No one told the government that manufacturing increases exports that creates taxes that lowers government borrowing… They seem not to know that yet?
Is this the first steps of the global economic union, I thought the Amero will become that currency?
Fascism as defined by Benito Mussolini – “Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the merger of state and corporate power.”
It will be the end of the last semblance of sovereignty for nations. We will be ruled by corporations and the countries will be ran to that effect leaving all working people as slaves to multinational corporations.
That is the agenda in a nutshell. Neo-feudalism, the eradication of the sovereign nation state so that the richest families in the world can eventually control the world and everyone on it completely via corporations and supranational blocs. People better start looking at what is happening in this world right before their eyes if they value freedom and their childrens future.
This outrage must be opposed with might and main. The reason we’re inundated with vulture funds pillaging the place and are fighting off attempts to privatise our water is at the behest of the Americans and their so called “free trade”.
TTIP is a corporate multi billion deal which if passed will negatively affect all European countries to the detriment of its citizens. Its poisonous – pure unadulterated corporate filth – it’s no wonder Enda & Co are in favour of it. They care not a bit for the people of Ireland backing this disgusting deal.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEW3DYDJi2E&sns=em
http://www.sanders.senate.gov/download/the-trans-pacific-trade-tpp-agreement-must-be-defeated?inline=file
TPP and the TTIP are different sides of the same coin.
At LAST an article about TTIP, never a vote ever again for any party or person that votes to approve this absolute betr@yal of the people. TTIP is an unbelievably evil, pure unadulterated evil corporate attempt to own, control and profit from every thing without any control or safe guards.
TTIP needs to be stopped, full stop.
We don’t want it.
Mad stuff and about time it made it into the limelight- I plan to ask every single canvasser this time around what their stance is on the TTIP. If they don’t have an opinion (at least) I won’t even consider them for a vote.
This could be the beginning of “The United States of America and Europe”.
Here’s a petition against TTIP that will be delivered to every election candidate https://uplift.ie/fight-ttip/
Just a question – who are the dozen or so people (see Wikipedia) who make up the “Corporate European Observatory” and who exactly funds it?
The homepage suggests that it’s a left wing talking shop supported in the main by a small number of organisations who do not reveal their own funding sources.
Just sayin’.
Ha! Yeah they has come up before. Although they seem to have some “enlightened” reporting it isn’t to clear who their “friends” are. Although they seem to have an anti-EU agenda, from the little I have read they don’t seem to be pointing in any specific direction.
I suppose that is the intention…
In fairness, the European Commission has always been eager to include any relevant organisation the centre of decision-making.
I’ve seen first hand how the commission acts pro-actively in looking for the opinion of NGO’s when considering a policy. For example – when considering regulation concerning motorcycles, the commission does not only look for the opinion of the ministers for transport around Europe, they will also engage with a body which represents the interests of motorcyclists at a pan-european level.
Same goes for small-business interest groups, cyclists groups, employee interest groups, cancer-sufferer interest groups….If you look for them, there’s an NGO in Europe for just about every interest, and the commission regularly engages with them and listens.
This time last year they put out a call for small business owners to get involved in the TTIP and to help shape policy which specifically affects small business in Europe.
Of course big business is going to want some input into decisions which affect them and are afforded an opportunity to put forward their perspective – but that opportunity exists across the board. The way the EU commission works is actually closer to Direct Democracy than what we have in individual member states.
you sir are what is wrong in this and other countries, you believe politicians
I don’t believe politicians, that’s why I prefer the set-up with the commission. You’ve a better chance of having your concerns addressed through a good channel in the commission than through the office of an Irish minister.
Basically – you’re bypassing politicians and dealing directly with the “civil servants” who are recommending policy. That process is MORE of a close shop under our current national system.
i’ll leave it there so matt
What would be the point in having a government in that case Matt.
C’mom Matt. A commission is Europe is somehow more trustworthy? Record shows that has not been the case. Although what you say seems to be a positive it in no way acknowledges the far bigger and numerous negatives.
Disingenuous, to say the least, Matt – and incorrect.
http://businessagainstttip.org ; you can make your voice heard;
Business against ttip Part Statement;
‘We UK-based businesses have come together to express our grave concerns about the secretly negotiated EU-US trade deal, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).
Together with thousands of our counterparts in other European countries, we are concerned that many European businesses risk being wiped out by unfair competition from US corporations if TTIP is allowed to go through. ‘
I posted a comment on this site a week or so ago.These people don’t Cate about you,they actually depise you and your off spring.Look at enda Kenny and listen to how he speaks to the media.Do you really think they care about you when they make decisions? No,none of them do,and for those of you thinking sein Fein you would won’t to wake up too…Gerry is a friend of the same peole,leading you all up the garden path.It’s called controlled opposition,just like ukip in UK.Their all the same.So I would suggest not voting in any election as this is best solution to getting rid of these despots.But who’ll run the country Sean!It runs fine between June and mid October without them doesn’t it….there’s a hint for you…
Moronic Luddite Horse Crâp.
“The yawn-inducing name is part of what makes it so dangerous”.
Oh really?
Show your reasoning there David Lundy.
You write a load of baloney.
Europe is run by the builderbergers
Bilderbergers
Bilderberger
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Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
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