Aggressive retargeting banner ads from Criteo can bring you on the brink of madness

Do recurring advertisements for the same companies or products , often in pop -up form or even in the middle of the screen  drive you crazy? Then chances are very high  that you are a victim of so-called " retargeting " or " remarketing "stalking by companies like Criteo. Cookies allow these companies to keep track of who visits a certain site. From the moment you  come  upon a webpage of a company that is a customer of Criteo and likes, you are a doomed victim for these advertisement stalkers . You end up getting annoying popup advertisements forf this company with every new page that you open in your browser . Often these recurring advertisement promote only a single product. Personally, I have been haunted by days by ‪Furby and Lego City from the Fun Belgium company‬. An example of aggressive remarketing advertising by ‪Criteo, that really got on my nerves ‬. Until I discovered how to disable these ads  by clicking in the upper right corner of the advertisement.

Unfortunately, with othermarketing agencies which use the same retargeting techniques ,disabling advertisments doesn't go that easy. In these cases you can block those annoying spammy ads by a programme like AdBlock. And furthermore, remove all cookies through the privacy settings of your browser. Because it is better to be safe than sorry.

I have a certificate in ‪ internet marketing. I am not opposed to internet advertising.  But I  look upon this kind  remarketing or retargeting as pure and utterly evil spamming.. Furthermore this kind of advertising is also stupid because the system should  have noticed after a limited number of displaysthat I will not buy or that I've already purchased from a competitor .

I call on the EU to immediately stop this aggressive retargeting / remarketing by internet advertising agencies like Criteo.  Banning them from the internet would be even more preferrable. Also the EU should draw a restricting legal framework, so that companies like Google and Microsoft alsodo not cross the line. Because just like Criteo, Google and Microsoft engage in retargeting (remarketing) through their advertising services . Until now they have only done in this in a less aggressive and more sneaky manner .

Retargeting is a serious invasion of privacy, to say the least , and if remarketing happens in the manner of the likes of Criteo., it corresponds to Internet terror just like spam  email and cyber bullying . Evildoers are ReTargeter , Owner IQ , Changeo , Media Forge , AdRoll , Magnetic , Domotica, FetchBlack, Steel House, Tell Apart, Google Remarketing, BuySight and of course Criteo .

As citizens we can also make a difference, by not buying from companies that hire these agencies.
Do not bank with ING.  Do not shop at Carrefour. Do not book any hotels through booking.com. Avoid Zalando and Wehkamp .