Isto tem-me acontecido tanta e tanta vez nos últimos tempos na compra de viagens. O preço aumenta sempre a cada pesquisa e às vezes apenas alguns minutos depois.
Esperemos que a CE resolva isto depressa.
Commission urged to protect consumers against 'IP tracking' | EurActiv
Esperemos que a CE resolva isto depressa.
MEPs have called on the European Commission to protect consumers’ privacy and personal data online by regulating the so-called “IP-tracking” systems of some commercial Internet sites, a move Brussels has so far abstained from but might be forced to reconsider given the mood in some member states.Holidaymakers looking for cheap flights abroad over the weekend may have noticed that on some websites, the prices tend to go up at each visit.
One, perfectly legal, explanation is that there are fewer seats available. But that is not always the case. As French daily Le Monde’s consumers’ protection blog “SOS Conso” showed back in January, there was another much more controversial method of pumping up the prices artificially, called “IP-tracking”.
When a website using this practice offers you a certain price, it simultaneously records your search as well as the IP address from which the search was conducted. If you didn not buy your place ticket immediately, on your next visit, the website offers you a slightly more expensive price at each one of your searches. The more you search, the higher the amount, until you give in and buy. The price increases even though there are just as many seats available.
According to estimates, around 300 million users are potential victims of such practices across Europe.
MEPs from different political parties and countries have already raised the question with the EU's justice commissioner, Viviane Reding, since Le Monde’s revelations. The Commission answered that the issue was in the hands of national authorities but that “the clients should be informed about the processing”.
This week, a Belgian MEP, Marc Tarabella (Socialists), put the issue back on the table. He alerted the Belgian media about what he saw as an illegal practice, though there was a legal loophole in most member states.
As well as tracking a user's searches on their own website, Tarabella was shocked by another industry practice.
“Moreover, these companies record which other websites the consumer visited in order to sketch his profile. If he visited luxurious websites under the same IP-address, it can influence the price offered”, Tarabella told EurActiv in an interview.
The MEP said that the Commission should come up with a proactive legislative proposal which would allow for a more harmonised approach at European level. But he says he will address Belgian authorities too, following the example of MEP Françoise Castex, who seized the French national authority for internet and freedom (CNIL) this Spring. The authorities have launched a study and are looking into the problem.
Airlines under scrutiny
No specific companies were mentioned, but some suggest that low-cost airlines might be most likely to use IP-tracking methods. Air France has already denied accusations in February. “In no way, does our company’s algorithms use IP-tracking,” it said in a statement.
“We don’t oppose commercial activity and targeting online, but we say that the consumer should be informed and asked for permission if his personal data are being collected for commercial purpose,” Tarabella said.
The European Commission has not received Tarabella’s parliamentary question yet, and was only able to repeat what it already said in the past – that it is a matter for the national authorities. But if member states start adapting their national legislation to this particular issue, as parliamentarians hope, it might be forced to reconsider the issue and streamline national laws into a European one.
In the meantime, consumers who want to avoid those pitfalls are advised to search for tickets and trips from one computer, and then make the reservations from a different one.
One, perfectly legal, explanation is that there are fewer seats available. But that is not always the case. As French daily Le Monde’s consumers’ protection blog “SOS Conso” showed back in January, there was another much more controversial method of pumping up the prices artificially, called “IP-tracking”.
When a website using this practice offers you a certain price, it simultaneously records your search as well as the IP address from which the search was conducted. If you didn not buy your place ticket immediately, on your next visit, the website offers you a slightly more expensive price at each one of your searches. The more you search, the higher the amount, until you give in and buy. The price increases even though there are just as many seats available.
According to estimates, around 300 million users are potential victims of such practices across Europe.
MEPs from different political parties and countries have already raised the question with the EU's justice commissioner, Viviane Reding, since Le Monde’s revelations. The Commission answered that the issue was in the hands of national authorities but that “the clients should be informed about the processing”.
This week, a Belgian MEP, Marc Tarabella (Socialists), put the issue back on the table. He alerted the Belgian media about what he saw as an illegal practice, though there was a legal loophole in most member states.
As well as tracking a user's searches on their own website, Tarabella was shocked by another industry practice.
“Moreover, these companies record which other websites the consumer visited in order to sketch his profile. If he visited luxurious websites under the same IP-address, it can influence the price offered”, Tarabella told EurActiv in an interview.
The MEP said that the Commission should come up with a proactive legislative proposal which would allow for a more harmonised approach at European level. But he says he will address Belgian authorities too, following the example of MEP Françoise Castex, who seized the French national authority for internet and freedom (CNIL) this Spring. The authorities have launched a study and are looking into the problem.
Airlines under scrutiny
No specific companies were mentioned, but some suggest that low-cost airlines might be most likely to use IP-tracking methods. Air France has already denied accusations in February. “In no way, does our company’s algorithms use IP-tracking,” it said in a statement.
“We don’t oppose commercial activity and targeting online, but we say that the consumer should be informed and asked for permission if his personal data are being collected for commercial purpose,” Tarabella said.
The European Commission has not received Tarabella’s parliamentary question yet, and was only able to repeat what it already said in the past – that it is a matter for the national authorities. But if member states start adapting their national legislation to this particular issue, as parliamentarians hope, it might be forced to reconsider the issue and streamline national laws into a European one.
In the meantime, consumers who want to avoid those pitfalls are advised to search for tickets and trips from one computer, and then make the reservations from a different one.
Comentário