Feb 04, 2021 19:00:00

A new ``cookieless mechanism'' devised by Google is facing antitrust violations

Google

has been sued for allegedly violating the antitrust law (antitrust law) over its operation of the search engine and its illegal advertising contract with Facebook . In addition to this, Google's new attempt at the time of writing the article, `` Devising a mechanism to replace cookies, '' is also being watched as a violation of the Antimonopoly Act.

Why Google's approach to replacing the cookie is drawing antitrust scrutiny
https://digiday.com/media/why-googles-approach-to-replacing-the-cookie-is-drawing-antitrust-scrutiny/

Targeted advertisements displayed on the Internet use third-party cookies , but due to concerns that this mechanism excessively tracks user behavior and violates individual privacy, Google will We are announcing that we are deprecating third-party cookie support in Google Chrome.

On top of that, Google is considering a mechanism to replace third-party cookies, and the content is proposed in the form of a `` privacy sandbox ''. The privacy sandbox is under discussion at the time of article creation, and many proposals have been rejected or, on the contrary, have progressed to the testing stage.

In January 2021, ``FLoC'' was announced, which divides users into ``cohorts'' of several thousand people and analyzes data such as interests and interests on a cohort basis. The beta version of Google Chrome 89 has been confirmed to have the 'FLoC' function, and it is believed that large-scale testing will begin soon.

What is 'FLoC', a new advertising mechanism without third-party cookies proposed by Google? -GIGAZINE

On the other hand, Google was sued for violating the antitrust law (antitrust law) in October and December 2020, but the above ``new cookieless advertising mechanism'' also violates the anti-independence law. is directed. The UK's Fair Trade Commission (CMA) has reported that it launched an investigation into the privacy sandbox on January 8, 2021, saying, ``Google's new mechanism allows companies to spend more advertising money than competitors. may focus on Google's ecosystem at the expense of

Lawsuits filed in December and class-action lawsuits filed by publishers allege that Google has used vast amounts of information to its advantage to the detriment of publishers who do not use Google as an advertising middleman, as well as cookie exclusion. It states that Google's decision is 'exclusive'.

James Roswell of Marketers for an Open Web said, ``Privacy Sandbox attempts to bring open and interoperable technologies under Google's control. We will enter the garden and the independent open web will come to an end.'

The reason why the privacy sandbox is criticized in this way is that its mechanism is too centered on the Chrome browser. In the new advertising mechanism proposed by Google, advertising operations are performed at the browser level and within the device, so there is a problem of concentration of information that 'only Google knows the data analysis for displaying targeted advertisements'. are viewed. It has also been pointed out that it may lead to discrimination against people with limited data plans, as it is expected to require the storage and processing of enormous amounts of data.

For this reason, Mr. Arnaud Blanchard of retargeting company Criteo says that it is not complete with just a browser, but an 'independent gatekeeper' such as a cloud service provider or SSP is interposed, and many people are involved in controlling advertisements. We are proposing the realization of a flexible mechanism.

In fact, Google is also considering such a mechanism. Originally proposed TURTLEDOVE was to operate advertisements only with a browser, but Google newly developed TURTLEDOVE and announced 'Fledge ' that incorporates a 'trusted server'.

Since the privacy sandbox is an open initiative, Google product manager Chetna Bindra has raised questions about how Fledge's 'trusted servers' are determined, and who controls the trusted servers. ``We will discuss and decide with people participating in the privacy sandbox.'' ``Fledge never designates anyone as a trusted server,'' Bindra said.

In recent years, dissatisfaction with Google from advertisers, publishers, and ad tech companies has increased, and Google's trust has been shaken. This 'lack of trust' is at the core of the criticism of privacy sandboxes, said privacy law firm Alan Chappell. To solve the problem, 'Chrome is the best option for users, Google's numbers are accurate, Google itself is moving towards an open web, and other technology companies will be able to compete when the new mechanism is completed. 'People need to be believed,' Chappell said.