European Union: Implemented requirement for designated gatekeepers to submit reports relating to the consumer profiling techniques employed

On 7 March 2024, the requirement for designated gatekeepers to submit reports relating to the consumer profiling techniques employed ended. The European Commission adopted the template for the annual submission of descriptions of consumer profiling techniques and their audits, as mandated by Article 15 of the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Designated gatekeepers are obligated to provide comprehensive and transparent reports on the methodologies employed for profiling consumers on core platform services. These reports will be subject to independent audits. Gatekeepers must include specific details, such as the intended purpose of the profiling technique, a breakdown of each category of personal data and user activity-derived data processed for consumer profiling, a thorough depiction of inferred consumer data, the duration of data retention, safeguards in place to prevent targeted advertising based on profiling of minors or children, disclosure of automated decision-making resulting from profiling techniques, measures to inform consumers about ongoing profiling, and efforts to obtain consumer consent for profiling.