Google’s plans to phase out third-party cookies has once again come under fire, now being criticised by a group of German publishers including Politico and Der Spiegel owners Axel-Springer, reports the Financial Times.
Though these plans are framed as potentially improving user security and control over their data, Google’s line on removing third-party tracking cookies has once again been pilloried as benefitting nobody but themselves.
The joint statement coming from the German publishers argues that Google will close off data collection routes for publishers, advertisers and competitors, whilst maintaining their own tracking of users.
This new complaint, sent to the EU’s competition unit, has taken aim at the planned changes that are being brought in as part of Google’s new “Privacy Sandbox”, following a similar complaint made by the Movement for an Open Web in September 2021.
Pressure is now mounting on Google over its alleged anti-competitive practices, as well as driving home the need for regulation and antitrust enforcement in the EU and beyond.
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Header image taken by Mitchell Luo, licensed for use under the Unsplash license