Author: Sarah Steimer
Publisher: American Marketing Association
Publication Year: 2018
Summary: The following article pertains to the ethical use of customers’ information in marketing campaigns. The article starts by explaining that Cambridge Analytica hired an individual to acquire personal information on Facebook users by collecting their information through a seemingly innocent personality quiz. This occurrence led to Cambridge Analytica collecting data on millions of people, leading many individuals to feel uneasy about how frequently and to what extent their data is collected. This is just one example of data being misused without conspicuous consent. In tandem, the author highlights the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which “is a new set of rules from the European Union that are designed to improve individuals’ control over their personal data.” This regulation applies to all data of subjects residing within the EU, regardless of where the company is located. This affects marketers because “the type of data collected must be adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary for the intended purpose of collection,” and “data may not be shared or transferred to another organization without consent from the person to do so.” Although this regulation only technically constrains a limited group of people, these safeguards are relevant to everyone who collects data on an individual for any sort of business purpose.