Digital Markets Act: Commission seeks views regarding template for reporting consumer profiling techniques used by platforms

The  Commission is launching a consultation on a draft template for the description of consumer profiling techniques, which gatekeepers apply to their core platform services. Gatekeepers are obliged to submit the description to the Commission as part of their obligations under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). All interested parties have six weeks to submit on EUSurvey their views on the draft, i.e. until 15 September 2023.

Gatekeepers collect and accumulate large amounts of data from users, which limit the possibility for potential entrants and start-ups to compete with them. Transparency on profiling techniques should help prevent deep consumer profiling from becoming the industry standard, allowing competitors to differentiate themselves by offering improved privacy guarantees.

The draft template specifies the minimum information that the Commission expects gatekeepers to provide to enhance transparency and accountability of their profiling techniques. The description must be independently audited, and gatekeepers must publish a meaningful and non-confidential overview of it. Both the description and the overview must be updated annually.

The aim of the consultation is to gather feedback from stakeholders on the draft template to ensure that all relevant aspects of consumer profiling are considered. This will ensure transparency and facilitate the supervision by the Commission and the competent authorities. In particular, the Commission welcomes feedback from potential gatekeepers, consumer interest groups, data experts, relevant national competent authorities, platforms' business users such as advertisers, and auditors active in relevant areas.

The Commission will designate the gatekeepers under the DMA by 6 September 2023. Designated companies will then have six months to comply with the list of obligations and prohibitions in the DMA.

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