Google faces competition probe over block on adverts that use people’s browsing history
Google faces a deepening investigation over its decision to block adverts that use people’s browsing history after opponents of the move brought the case to Britain’s competition watchdog.
Marketers for an Open Web, a group of news publishers and advertising companies, said it would write to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) over Google’s move to limit how advertisers can track users.
On Wednesday, Google said it would no longer support advertising technology that relies on tracking people across different websites. The move sent ripples across the industry since Google’s advertising technology is used by millions of websites.
The announcement went far beyond an earlier move by Google to block tracking based on code known as third-party cookies in its Chrome browser from next year.
In January, the CMA opened a formal investigation into Google’s decision to block third-party cookies from Chrome, saying the move could be anti-competitive after a complaint from MOW.
The group’s new complaint, which follows this week’s much-wider move, could add to evidence that the web giant is unfairly using privacy tools as a way to boost its own business.
James Rosewell, an advertising entrepreneur who is the MOW’s director, said Wednesday’s announcement was a “real kick in the teeth” for advertisers.
His comments follow similar concerns from the European Newspaper Publishers' Association, which on Friday cautioned it could create a "black box" of information on digital publishing, only available to Google.
In a joint statement with the European Magazine Media Association, the group said: "Such a landmark change in the functioning of the digital economy must not be decided by one private tech giant that is able to shift the online environment through its business policy decisions."
While Google positioned the move as a way to protect people’s privacy, its crackdown on tracking across websites has led to allegations that Google is abusing its control over key parts of the web such as Chrome and its advertising technology to boost alternatives to its advertising business.
Google’s wide array of internet services such as Android, Google Maps and YouTube means it has detailed information on users that smaller advertisers have said they are unable to match without resorting to cross-site tracking.
Google argues the change does not give it unfair advantage. According the Google, it may result in it losing some customers as they may shift to other companies which do offer tracking, with the change only affecting its services - not other ad tech providers.
The company said: "We realise this means other providers may offer a level of user identity for ad tracking across the web that we will not.
"We don’t believe these solutions will meet rising consumer expectations for privacy, nor will they stand up to rapidly evolving regulatory restrictions, and therefore aren’t a sustainable long term investment."
Google has said it is working on privacy-friendly advertising tools, but the CMA has said it wants to ensure this is done in a way that does not “distort competition”.
The regulator has already said it is concerned about the near-80pc share of the digital advertising market enjoyed by Google and Facebook.
