Observed Signal · Feb 19, 2026 · Regulation · Source: AdExchanger · Impact: 4/5 · Sentiment: Negative
Ad Tech Must Define Ethics Amid Surveillance Concerns
An AdExchanger opinion column highlights a late-January RFI from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) asking ad tech and location-data vendors how their tools could "directly support investigations." ICE framed the request as market research rather than a solicitation. The piece criticizes the ad-tech industry's muted public response and calls for firms to define ethical red lines if they insist they are not in the "surveillance" business. The author notes past industry pushback against labels like "surveillance advertising" and urges concrete, public commitments beyond social-media outrage to prevent reputational and regulatory risks.
A federal RFI seeking how ad-tech and location-data services could support investigations raises substantial privacy, legal and reputational risks for the industry; it could prompt regulatory scrutiny and demands for clearer ethical boundaries.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued an RFI in late January requesting information from ad-tech and location-data providers about how their tools could support investigations.
- ICE stated the RFI was for market research, planning and information gathering and was not a solicitation for services at this stage.
- Industry public reaction was limited, with few companies going on record and only off-the-record reports that some planned to respond.
- The article calls on ad-tech companies to publicly define and refuse ethical lines if they want to contest labels like "surveillance advertising."
- The piece references IAB CEO David Cohen's 2023 dismissal of the "surveillance advertising" characterization.
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