Personal data in the 21st century is not just a list of details about you – your name, address, date of birth or phone number – it is a vast trove of information drawn from the websites you visit, the places you go, the apps you have on your phone, the time you spend on your screens, your bank accounts and shopping habits. That data trove is valuable because it not only indicates who you are or where you live but also allows those with access to it to make inferences in real time about what kind of person you are and what your vulnerabilities may be.

Online advertising works by auctioning access to your eyeballs so that businesses can sell you things at the moment you are most likely to buy whatever it is they are trying to sell. In the international marketplace for personal data, the information that identifies key vulnerabilities is valuable precisely because when we are vulnerable, we are more open to suggestions.

This report documents the nature of some of the more troubling consumer manipulation practices currently occurring in Australia. It explores how targeted advertising affects people who gamble, consume alcohol, are experiencing financial stress, and how it affects children and young people. Each case study describes potential consumer harm and rights violations and goes on to include evidence from the ‘Xandr File’ about the nature of data that is routinely traded for targeted advertising about each of these groups.