Allegations of User Tracking Against Google’s Privacy Sandbox by Austrian Non-Governmental Organization
Accusations have been made by Austrian privacy non-profit noyb (none of your business) against Google’s intention to phase out third-party tracking cookies in Chrome with Privacy Sandbox, alleging that the feature could still facilitate user tracking.
The organization stated that while the ‘Privacy Sandbox’ is promoted as an enhancement over highly invasive third-party tracking, it essentially results in Google conducting tracking activities within the browser.
“In order to achieve this, the company supposedly requires the same informed consent from users. However, Google is deceiving individuals by presenting it as ‘Activating an ad privacy function,'” noyb expressed.
In simpler terms, by prompting users to enable a privacy function, they end up unknowingly authorizing Google’s internal ad tracking. The Austrian non-governmental organization, based in Vienna and led by activist Max Schrems, lodged a complaint with the Austrian data protection authority.
Privacy Sandbox constitutes a collection of suggestions put forward by the tech giant with the aim of preventing undercover tracking methods while restricting data sharing with third-parties but enabling website publishers to deliver customized advertisements.
Nevertheless, the plan to eliminate third-party cookies in Chrome has experienced several postponements as Google endeavors to address the concerns and feedback raised by regulators and developers. Earlier in April, the company announced its intentions to phase out third-party cookies in the upcoming year.
During the interim period, Google is intensifying its testing initiatives, having already suspended third-party cookies for 1% of Chrome users globally from the first quarter of 2024.
Despite users having the choice to reject tracking in this manner, noyb has accused Google of utilizing deceptive tactics to enhance consent rates and misleadingly presenting it as a protective feature against ad tracking.
Noyb further contended that even if Privacy Sandbox is less intrusive compared to third-party cookie tracking methods, Google does not have the prerogative to breach data protection regulations in the region.
“In order to be lawful, consent must be transparent, informed, and fair. Google has done the exact opposite,” stated Max Schems, founder of noyb. “Simply stealing less from individuals than another thief does not qualify you as a ‘security guardian.’ This is essentially what Google is doing in this case.”
Google, in a response shared with Reuters, mentioned that Privacy Sandbox provides “significant privacy advancements” over current technologies, and it is committed to reaching a “balanced outcome” that addresses the requirements of all parties involved.
This incident is not the initial instance where noyb has filed complaints with European Union regulators against major tech organizations for purported privacy violations.
Previously, in April, it cited OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, for infringing General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) laws by generating inaccurate information about individuals.
Specifically concerning Meta, noyb criticized the company for opting for “Legitimate Interests” in its plans to utilize publicly shared data of its users. This excludes private messages with acquaintances or data from accounts of Europeans below 18 years of age, for training and advancing unspecified artificial technologies.
The social media entity has since reacted by stating that the AI models it develops “necessitate training on relevant data that reflects the diverse languages, geographies, and cultural references of the European populace who will engage with them.”
Meta also pointed out that other firms such as Google and OpenAI have utilized data from European users for training their AI models, highlighting that its method is “more open and offers simpler controls compared to many other industry counterparts that are already training their models on similar publicly available data.”
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