Several Dutch political parties place tracking cookies on visitors' devices without permission. In doing so, they are violating European cookie and privacy laws. In a response, the parties let it be known that it is a mistake and that they are working on a solution. This emerges from research conducted by NOS. The results are confirmed by independent cookie expert Rob van Eijk, who observed the same violation at several political parties, and privacy researcher Floor Terra.
Since 2012, websites have been allowed to set cookies only with the visitor's permission. Functional and analytical cookies - files that are necessary to ensure that a website works properly or to map visitor behavior - are exempt from this. Tracking cookies, on the other hand, may only be placed if someone gives explicit permission. This type of cookie analyzes which sites someone visits and can thus collect a lot of privacy-sensitive information. That is why the consent requirement is a strict one.
Among others, the BoerBurgerBeweging (BBB), Forum voor Democratie (FvD), the SGP and Volt go wrong, according to NOS. They place tracking cookies without asking visitors' explicit permission in advance. "These parties violate the rules by loading advertising systems that are intended to reach people at a later stage," Van Eijk said.
He argues that today it is clear that you have to ask for permission. "If you don't, then companies like Google and Twitter can look in on surfing behavior on those websites. That's sensitive information, because it involves political affiliation." Terra has long been investigating the use of tracking cookies by political parties and warned BBB and FvD on their violation as early as 2021. In her own words, she never received a response from the parties.
NOS presented the results of its investigation to the parties. BBB let it be known that this was an error and that a solution is being worked on. FvD says in a response that it has spent a lot of time making its website AVG-compliant and was not aware of this error. The party promises to fix this error.
Volt says it is a mistake by the party's European branch and the party is working to make the sites completely cookie-free. D66 and the CDA promise in a response to fix the problem quickly. The SGP could not be reached for comment.
The Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens reacts with shock at the findings. "Using tracking cookies without someone's permission is absolutely not allowed. We want clarification from these political parties," a spokesperson told NOS. In previous House of Representatives elections, the regulator sent a letter to all political parties to remind them of the privacy rules during elections.
Targeted political ads have been under fire for some time. Bits of Freedom recently warned about the dangers of microtargeting. "By firing targeted messages at certain groups, these types of ads can very cleverly influence voters. This is because Meta and Google's algorithms know exactly who to show the message to in order to make them believe it. That is the difference with advertising in public spaces, such as hanging VVD posters in Amsterdam-Zuid. There is a lot less manipulation behind it," said the interest group.
The European Parliament and EU member states agreed Tuesday on stricter rules and more transparency regarding political ads. For example, advertisements of political parties must have clear labels, it must be clear who paid for the commercial and the amount involved. Furthermore, it will be forbidden for countries outside the EU to sponsor political advertisements. Policymakers thus want to counter disinformation campaigns. Finally, political ads based on ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation will be banned.
Brussels hopes to implement the new rules around political ads before the European Parliament elections in June 2024.
