Britain’s data protection regulator has branded Google “irresponsible” for allowing advertisers to track customers’ “digital footprints”, amid fears that even privacy-conscious users will find it difficult to block the technique. online monitoring.
The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has warned that the practice will undermine consumers’ control and choice over how their data is collected and used, and Google’s plan to allow its implementation falls far short of its “expectation.” of a privacy-driven Internet.”
Fingerprinting involves collecting signals from a device’s software or hardware that together uniquely identify a user or device—a sort of supercharged version of cookies.
Fingerprints are harder to detect and block and users cannot give consent as easily as they can with cookie windows that frequently appear when browsing the Internet, the data watchdog said.
This week Google announced that from mid-February advertisers will be able to use it, citing the need for brands to better reach their desired audiences on smart TV, streaming services and internet-connected gaming consoles, a fast-growing advertising area known as connected TV (CTV). . He also said there have been advances in technology that improve customer privacy.
In 2019 Google had saying: “Unlike cookies, users cannot erase their digital footprint and therefore cannot control how their information is collected. “We believe this subverts user choice and is incorrect.”
Stephen Almond, executive director of regulatory risk at the ICO, said: “We believe this change is irresponsible. Companies do not have free rein to use fingerprints however they want. Like all advertising technology, it must be implemented legally and transparently, and if it is not, the ICO will act.”
The ICO believes that fingerprinting is “not a fair means of tracking users online because it is likely to reduce people’s choice and control over how their information is collected.”
He said the policy change meant fingerprints could replace the functions of third-party cookies and that data protection law meant companies had to give users fair choices about whether to be tracked or not.
Google said it would have further discussions with the ICO about the policy change.
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A company spokesperson said: “Privacy-enhancing technologies offer new ways for our partners to succeed on emerging platforms like CTV without compromising user privacy.
“We continue to give users the option to receive personalized ads and will work across the industry to encourage responsible use of data.”