What will major new changes to tracking mean for the consumer internet?
Connected consumers roundup #13
The online privacy game is changing as Apple and Google roll out major data sharing updates. Thanks to its new iOS update, Apple users now have a simplified way to opt out of sharing their personal data with apps that will go on use it for targeted advertising. Google is also planning to block the use of third-party cookies (i.e the cookies used by ad networks to see your history, build up a profile and target advertising at you) via its Chrome browser. In place of third-party cookies are ‘federated learning of cohorts’ a technology that groups people by demographics or preferences. This allows advertising based on interests which gives more anonymity to people than individualised, targeted advertising. So far so good if, as the companies claim, they are responding to consumer concerns and preferences.
However, a broad set of voices have concerns about the wider impact of these changes. Privacy campaigners worry that more opaque and intrusive tracking such as digital device fingerprinting will grow to bypass the limitations on trackers. They also fear Google’s new system will impact external tracking but will leave the company able to continue to internally amass information and insights from its search engine. Regarding Apple, the German Advertising Federation have complained to their competition regulator that their new tracking opt out is an abuse of market power. They make the case that if data-driven ad revenue is cut off, more apps will shift to a paid subscription model which would benefit Apple due to the commission they make from app developers. Meanwhile Facebook has pushed heavily back on the changes. They argue it will harm the small businesses that rely on reaching new customers via targeted advertising and even hinting that their promise of ‘free and always will be’ may not hold forever.
This range of criticism was inevitable as the reach of Google and Apple in the consumer internet means any changes will create winners and losers much more quickly than regulation could. As one recent article put it:
By rolling out privacy-focused updates to their dominant mobile software, these two tech giants are doing more to change online tracking practices in a few weeks than years of regulation have done on either side of the Atlantic Politico, April 2021
Perhaps this is the most striking thing - we know consumers like the speed and efficiency of digital services, but given the potential longer term impacts of the changes on privacy, choice and access, it might be that a more measured approach involving more voices is required.
Short takes:
More people are surviving heart attacks thanks to an app: A Danish app that locates and sends CPR-trained volunteers to those experiencing a heart attack has increased survival rates fourfold. https://www.cnet.com/health/this-app-dispatches-cpr-volunteers-to-help-people-having-heart-attacks
The kind of profiles that advertisers see: Signal, the private, encrypted messaging service took a swipe at Facebook’s data monetization model by sketching out the kind of profiles sold on to advertisers, like “You got this ad because you’re a divorced GP with a Master’s in art history”. See more here: https://signal.org/blog/the-instagram-ads-you-will-never-see
Nine alternatives to the dreaded privacy notice: The World Economic Forum says what we’re all thinking about online privacy notices, labelling them a ‘farce’ and offering some alternative approaches to box ticking: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/04/online-privacy-notices-are-a-farce-here-s-an-alternative/
Collective action for consumers who pay too much for apps: another week, another Appstore case. Dr Rachael Kent is leading a UK class action on behalf of UK consumers against Apple, claiming that they have borne some of the costs of the alleged excessive service fees developers pay to be on the platform. This is the first time that consumers in Europe have been at directly at the centre of a one of the appstore cases: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-57062139
Driverless ride hailing service launches: passengers in Beijing will soon be able to have a completely automated cab journey. They can hail a taxi via an app, enter the car with a digital ID and in case of an ‘exceptional emergency’ take over the vehicle: https://roboticsandautomationnews.com/2021/04/29/baidu-apollo-to-launch-dully-driverless-ride-hailing-services-in-beijing/42899/
Long read: A story from Indonesia about how digital ID systems can go badly wrong for vulnerable and excluded people, leaving refugees, LGBTQI and displaced peoples unable to access health, finance and state entitlements: https://restofworld.org/2021/indonesias-invisible-people-face-discrimination-and-sometimes-death-by-database/