Google's Ad System Under EU Probe For How It Spreads Your Private Data (cnet.com) 46
Ireland's data protection watchdog has launched an investigation into Google's collection of personal data for the purpose of online advertising. From a report: "A statutory inquiry pursuant to section 110 of the Data Protection Act 2018 has been commenced in respect of Google Ireland Limited's processing of personal data in the context of its online Ad Exchange," the Data Protection Commission said in a statement Wednesday. The DPC, one of the lead authorities over Google in the European Union, wants to know whether the search giant's "processing of personal data carried out at each stage of an advertising transaction" is in compliance with the EU's General Data Protection Regulation. The GDPR is a sweeping law that gives residents of the European Union more control over their personal data and seeks to clarify rules for online services.
The DPC inquiry follows a complaint filed in Europe in September by privacy-focused browser maker Brave that says Google violates GDPR by broadcasting personal information to companies bidding to show targeted ads. At the time, Google denied any wrongdoing. On Wednesday, Johnny Ryan, Brave's chief policy and industry relations officer, said the DPC inquiry signals a change is coming that goes beyond just Google. "We need to reform online advertising to protect privacy, and to protect advertisers and publishers from legal risk under the GDPR," Ryan said in a blog post.
The DPC inquiry follows a complaint filed in Europe in September by privacy-focused browser maker Brave that says Google violates GDPR by broadcasting personal information to companies bidding to show targeted ads. At the time, Google denied any wrongdoing. On Wednesday, Johnny Ryan, Brave's chief policy and industry relations officer, said the DPC inquiry signals a change is coming that goes beyond just Google. "We need to reform online advertising to protect privacy, and to protect advertisers and publishers from legal risk under the GDPR," Ryan said in a blog post.
I don't think that's how Google's bidding works (Score:1)
As I understand it, advertisers submit bids for various keywords and things, and the auction/bidding process is carried out entirely on Google's side. Google's systems use information known about a user to estimate the probability that the user will click a given eligible ad, then multiply that probability by the bid from that advertiser to get an "expected value" of showing that ad. Then they rank the candidate ads by expected value and show the highest one. The advertiser doesn't get any information ab
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I guess we'll see what happens, but I'm pretty sure Google's denial was absolutely correct, that they don't give any user information to advertisers. I don't know the details of GDPR but I think "no information" should comply.
The GDPR covers much more than that. It's not just about passing data on (as the title of the summary suggests), it is about having and processing the data. The GDPR specifies a number of legal grounds for doing that, and the only one that will apply here is permission from the people whose data Google processes. That permission has to be explicit and specific. Hiding it in terms of service does not count as permission. Anyone without a Google account hasn't agreed to Google's terms of service, let alone gi
Stop using Google (Score:1)
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These are easily viable options to keep you 90% out of the data collection giant.
True, I practice most of it myself. Still, I'm afraid that the remaining 10% is more than enough to track you.
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The trouble with an iPhone is it is much harder to configure it to block ads and trackers when browsing. You're better of getting a rootable phone and install an Android version without Google Play.