UK watchdog slams Google for allowing 'irresponsible' tracking technology in ads
UK watchdog slams Google for allowing 'irresponsible' tracking technology in ads
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The UK's privacy watchdog has slammed Google over its decision to allow advertisers to use technology to track users which is harder to control or block. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) branded Google's latest move as "irresponsible" and called them out for backtracking on their earlier stance against the so-called fingerprinting tech. Fingerprinting gathers snippets of data about a device's software and hardware setup, piecing them together to uniquely pinpoint a device and its user a method the ICO cautions is trickier to erase than simply clearing cookies or site data from a browser, leaving users vulnerable to persistent ad targeting.
This rebuke from the ICO follows its revelation that Google had informed companies using its ad services that come February 2025, it will lift the ban on fingerprinting methods within its advertising toolkit. Stephen Almond, the ICO's executive director for regulatory risk, said: "Yesterday, Google announced to organisations that use its advertising products, that from 16 February 2025, it will no longer prohibit them from employing fingerprinting techniques.
"Our response is clear: businesses do not have free rein to use fingerprinting as they please. Like all advertising technology, it must be lawfully and transparently deployed and if it is not, the ICO will act. Fingerprinting involves the collection of pieces of information about a device's software or hardware, which, when combined, can uniquely identify a particular device and user.".
