SRG and Swisscom criticized for possible data use

ADVERTISING ALLIANCE At a press conference on Tuesday, January 26, 2016, the Swiss Media Association presented the results of a study on the planned joint venture between Swisscom, SRG, and Ringier, which the association had commissioned from Polynomics.The Polynomics study concludes that the joint venture is a necessary step. The alliance enables new forms of advertising that do justice to the changes in media consumption. Nevertheless, the study criticizes the role of the companies involved, Swisscom and SRG.Dispute over user dataThe question arises as to whether SRG, as a fee-financed company, is allowed to use collected data for commercial purposes. With a company like Google, this question does not arise because the user enters into a barter agreement. They use Google's services and allow their data to be used in return. With Billag, however, everyone in Switzerland is already paying for the SRG service. Is it then legal for SRG to use the collected data for commercial purposes? As an alternative, if the joint venture is approved in this constellation, the association proposes that the joint venture's user and usage data be made available to all media providers on a cost-covering and non-discriminatory basis.Association demands "marching halt"First and foremost, however, the association is demanding a "marching halt" and an inspection of the files so that it can definitively put forward its position. For the association, however, it is clear that SRG is violating the current online advertising ban with the joint venture. According to Hanspeter Lebrument, President of the association: "We now need to stop before the advertising marketing agreement has created facts and media diversity in Switzerland is jeopardized." According to Pietro Supino, Vice-President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Tamedia, the association is prepared to exhaust all legal remedies - if necessary, all the way to the European Court of Human Rights.

From left to right: Dr. Pietro Supino, Hanspeter Lebrument, Gilber A. BühlerAbout the advertising allianceEver since the plans for the planned joint venture became known in the summer of 2015, the Swiss Media Association has been up in arms. On December 16, 2015, the Competition Commission (COMCO) approved the plans of Swisscom, SRG and Ringier. On the same day, the Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM) prohibited SRG from participating in the joint venture until the end of the supervisory procedure. OFCOM intends to make a decision by the end of March 2016.Links to the topicWhat do you think of the advertising alliance between Ringier, Swisscom and SRG? Your opinion is needed!Here you will find the most important points of the Polynomics study in briefYou can find the complete Polynomics study here Author: Dominic Karrer