Tag: privacy

The CMA Final Report on the Mobile Ecosystems market study: a repudiation of Apple’s narrative over privacy and safety as justifications for the status quo

On 10 June 2022, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published its Final Report on its year-long market study into mobile ecosystems – namely mobile operating systems, app stores, and web browsers. The CMA found that Apple and Google have a tight grip over these increasingly crucial ecosystems, which in turn places them in … Continue reading The CMA Final Report on the Mobile Ecosystems market study: a repudiation of Apple’s narrative over privacy and safety as justifications for the status quo →

CRA and Geradin Partners Conference on Ad Tech, Competition Policy and Privacy Issues

Dear blog readers, I would like to invite you to the above event, which will take place on 19 April 2022 in London from 1 to 6pm. It is possible to attend the event either in-person or online. Please see all details and the registration form here. Access to the conference is free. The event … Continue reading CRA and Geradin Partners Conference on Ad Tech, Competition Policy and Privacy Issues →

EU probes Google’s ad tech business

Another day, another antitrust investigation into Google’s ad tech business. This time the probe was launched by the European Commission (the “Commission”), which has already fined Google three times for engaging in anticompetitive conduct. As readers of this blog are probably aware, Google’s practices in ad tech have captured considerable regulatory attention: the French Autorité … Continue reading EU probes Google’s ad tech business →

CMA publishes commitments offered by Google with respect to its Privacy Sandbox proposals, seeks comments

Last Friday the UK Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) published a 93-page long notice of intention to accept commitments offered by Google in relation to its Privacy Sandbox proposals, inviting all interested parties to submit their observations. By way of reminder, the CMA launched an investigation back in January 2021 into Google’s removal of third-party … Continue reading CMA publishes commitments offered by Google with respect to its Privacy Sandbox proposals, seeks comments →

Unpacking Google’s latest blog post on web tracking

Yesterday Google published a blog post regarding its approach to web tracking once third-party cookies are phased out in Chrome. The post was the talk of the day all over Twitter and the mainstream press, and certain commentators even suggested that Google has pledged to stop selling ads based on individual web browsing (a monumental … Continue reading Unpacking Google’s latest blog post on web tracking →

CMA opens investigation into Google’s Privacy Sandbox browser changes

The Competition and Markets Authority has just announced it will investigate Google's decision to remove third-party cookies from its Chrome browser in early 2022 and replace them with a set of proposals known as the Privacy Sandbox (NB: Google has justified this decision on privacy). The investigation - under Chapter II of the Competition Act … Continue reading CMA opens investigation into Google’s Privacy Sandbox browser changes →

New paper on Chrome and the Privacy Sandbox

In an earlier post discussing the fate of targeted advertising, I noted that much of the current debate centers around issues of competition and privacy, and the inevitable trade-offs between them. While personalized advertising promises benefits for publishers and advertisers (and in theory users that value relevant ads), it is under increasing pressure from privacy … Continue reading New paper on Chrome and the Privacy Sandbox →

What should be the fate of targeted advertising?

In a video for The New York Times, computer scientist and philosopher Jaron Lanier described online advertising as “the little space in the middle” combining capitalism with the “socialist” concept that Internet content should be free. Now a multi-billion-dollar industry, online advertising is what funds free online content. It is also what has elevated Google … Continue reading What should be the fate of targeted advertising? →