Janice R. Andrews
Austria’s Vienna The Austrian advocacy organization NOYB (None of Your Business) filed a privacy complaint against Alphabet’s Google on Thursday. The complaint focused on the tech giant’s alleged monitoring tactics using its Chrome Web browser. This allegation comes at a time when Google’s activities are already being closely examined by EU antitrust authorities.
The main focus of the complaint is Google’s move away from third-party cookies, which are often used by marketers to monitor customer activity. In an effort to improve user privacy, Google is retiring these cookies and releasing a new suite of tools known as the “Privacy Sandbox.” Developers and publishers may monitor ad success without tracking individual users thanks to these technologies, which are meant to restrict data sharing with third parties and inhibit covert tracking tactics.
Users of Chrome have the option to turn on the ad privacy feature in order to prevent tracking as part of this campaign. Nevertheless, NOYB asserts that this functionality effectively permits Google to carry on tracking users within the browser, which the organization believes contravenes EU privacy legislation requiring user permission.
“People were duped into adopting Google’s first-party ad tracking when they believed they were consenting to a privacy feature. For consent to be enforceable, it must be reasonable, clear, and informed. In a news statement, Max Schrems, the creator of NOYB, said, “Google has done the exact opposite.”
NOYB responded to these accusations by formally filing a complaint on Thursday with the Austrian data protection authorities. The advocacy organization has a track record of taking big internet corporations to task over privacy problems; it has filed many complaints with national and EU privacy watchdogs.
The corporation is under increasing pressure as it negotiates the complicated world of digital advertising and privacy laws, and this most recent discovery just makes things worse. The resolution of this complaint may have a big impact on Google’s business operations and compliance initiatives with EU privacy regulations.
