You have reached this page by clicking on a Facebook advertisement that directly targeted you based on very specific demographic features.
The advertisement that you clicked on was bought and paid for by Digital Rights Watch. But political parties, interest groups and individual candidates are all using Facebook microtargeting in their strategies to influence voters
Facebook knows a lot about you based on the information you have added yourself, the pages you have liked and how you interact with them. Using cookies, advertisers can also target Facebook advertisements at you based on your browsing habits.
More concerningly, because political parties are exempt from the Privacy Act, lists compiled and maintained by a range of third parties – such as marketing companies and interest groups – can also be uploaded to Facebook, and used by politicians to target users with advertisements.
This means information you have shared on one platform for a completely different purpose can be used to target you with advertisements on Facebook without you realising.
What can you do to protect your privacy?
Make sure you know how different parties stand when it comes to online privacy and changing the Privacy Act exemption.
You can also check out Digital Rights Watch Tools and Guides for more information and tips on how to manage your privacy online.