UK investigates evidence of monopoly in Google Chrome privacy plan

The UK is eyeing Google's privacy plan for the Chrome. On Friday (08/01), the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the British government's regulatory body, announced that it will investigate the changes to the browser. There are suspicions that Google's blocking of third-party cookies is a monopolistic maneuver.

“Google’s Privacy Sandbox proposals will have a significant impact on newspapers and the digital advertising market,” said Andrea Coscelli, CMA director general, in a statement“And there are also privacy issues to consider. That’s why we will continue to work with [the Information Commissioner’s Office] as we move forward with this investigation. We will also engage directly with Google and other market participants about our concerns.”

According to the CMA, there have already been several complaints against the Chrome privacy plan. In the above statement, the agency took into account one of them, from Marketers for an Open Web (MOW), a coalition of news and technology companies.

In November 2020, MOW wrote to the CMA claiming that the changes in Google’s plan are not about privacy, but about commerce. “If Google launches this technology, they will effectively own the means by which advertisers and media and technology companies reach their consumers,” said James Rosewell, director of MOW. “This change will be irreversible.”

Investigation results will be released in July

Google plans to implement a privacy plan for Chrome, called “Privacy Sandbox,” by 2022. The new feature will allow advertisers to access less data than they do today. The American company intends to disable third-party cookies in the browser using a set of advertising targeting tools. According to them, the new features would provide greater protection for consumer privacy.

In the statement, the CMA warns that the investigations began through “information gathering, including issuing formal and informal information requests”. The investigations are expected to be concluded in July.

Through which channels you reach those people, classic and out of the box. Apple Insider

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