Fingerprinting: Critics say Google rules put profits over privacy

Google is allowing advertisers to collect more personal information, which is harder for users to control.

British Broadcasting CorporationWatch LiveHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC InDepthBBC VerifySportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessFuture of BusinessInnovationTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindCultureFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsArtsArts in MotionTravelDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingAudioPodcastsRadioVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveWeatherNewslettersCritics say new Google rules put profits over privacy2 days agoImran Rahman-JonesTechnology reporterGetty ImagesPrivacy campaigners have called Google's new rules on tracking people online "a blatant disregard for user privacy."

Changes which come in on Sunday permit so-called "fingerprinting", which allows online advertisers to collect more data about users including their IP addresses and information about their devices.

Google says this data is already widely used by other companies, and it continues to encourage responsible data use.

However the company had previously come out strongly against this kind of data collection, saying in a 2019 blog that fingerprinting "subverts user choice and is wrong."

But in a post announcing the new rule changes, Google said the way people used the internet - such as devices like smart TVs and consoles - meant it was harder to target ads to users using conventional data collection, which users control with cookie consent.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm21g0052dno

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