In this episode, we bring you the biggest privacy news starting with Google’s extension of 3rd-party cookies until 2023, a notable shift in Android mobile ad spending in response to Apple’s ATT, and the latest, a group of privacy-first companies calling on EU and US lawmakers to ban surveillance-based advertising to protect people’s privacy. We also shared a list of privacy-oriented tools to protect you online.
Links in this episode:
- https://www.nohacksmarketing.com/podcast/get-the-floc-outta-here/
- https://www.nohacksmarketing.com/podcast/021-tracking-pixels-and-apples-mail-privacy-protection/
- https://github.com/paulaime/Awesome-Privacy
Episode Notes
Learn the latest news about online privacy ‒ a topic that we’re passionate to talk about here on No Hacks Marketing. We will talk about FLoC, Google’s initiative to replace third-party cookies, and more.
In this episode, we will be sharing with the latest updates on the following:
- Google’s extended support for third-party cookies
- Apple’s Privacy Initiatives
- Privacy-first companies’ call on lawmakers to ban surveillance-based advertising
The Call to Ban Surveillance-based Ads
The consumer council in Norway has published a report calling for a ban on all surveillance-based ads. For those who don’t know, surveillance-based ads are advertisements that track and profile consumers.
Unfortunately, surveillance-based advertisement is the backbone of the internet. This is also the first time that a country or a nation is trying to do something about it. We had GDPR, we’ve had all those initiatives, but this is something different.
This will annihilate surveillance-based advertising. Hence, we will no longer see ads based on what we’ve searched for, on what we’re doing, or what we’re watching.
Google Delaying the Cookie Rollout
Google pretends that they care about your privacy. They said that they’re going to fight third-party cookies because these are used to track users between websites. It’s an invasion of our internet privacy.
That said, FLoC and their privacy sandbox initiative were supposed to randomize all that you put in and it will put you in a cohort of people based on interest. But the whole idea was Google is telling this as “We’re protecting privacy over users.” But they still know everything, they’re protecting you from others but they’re keeping your data for themselves.
They’re saying that the reason for the delay is that they need more time to work closely with the regulators. The UK may have come up with a new technology that can replace third-party cookies. It tells you that the suggestion they had was not legal or not exactly illegal. It’s the antitrust laws, because they’re just sweeping the issue under the rug.
Someone needs to do that but it’s not Google. Because if Google hides this data from ad companies, that means they’re keeping it to themselves and no one else has them. If this happens, it’s going to be terrible for everyone. That’s why regulators should take care of it.
Tracking Pixels and Apple’s Mail Privacy Initiatives
Apple is leading in privacy initiatives right now. Since they rolled out the app tracking transparency, 33% of the iOS users have permitted apps to track them. Of course, what happens is the advertisers have shifted to investing more ads in Android.
This is more about “Don’t sneak up on me when I’m not watching you.” When we say activity, this means activity outside the app. That’s why we have no idea why 33% of people would let apps track them, but there’s a chance that 33% don’t understand or maybe have a habit of saying they’re testing the app.
While we’ve talked about the 33%, let’s not forget the Android users. There are 10% increases in ad spending and that’s substantial. That’s why it’s not surprising that advertisers are shifting to Android because they’re still desperate to get access to their ad spending results.
The problem here is that they’re tracking things that they should never track, and now we’re trying to tell them that they should track at least 20% less. But it should be zero. It’s up to the people and organizers to fight for their rights not to be tracked and not to be surveilled.
Moving Forward
Privacy-first companies are a group of small-to-large companies that believe that it’s possible to still grow as a business without abusing the privacy of the users. They passed this law to EU and US regulators in July 2021, and if this becomes a law, it will be groundbreaking.
But it’s still going to be a class thing. Like you still need to live in the EU or some part of the US just so that you’re not going to be tracked. Also, you must buy an Apple product which is much more expensive compared to Android phones.
There should be a rule that says privacy for everyone. We need pushback from everyone.
We need to let people be aware of their privacy and not think about “What are they going to track about me?” or “Why do I care?” and so on. That’s not the point. Someone’s making money off us by invading our data privacy, our behavior, and whatnot.
If someone is tracking your every move, that’s scary and it’s not how it should be.
A business that relies on surveillance-based advertising needs to use different methods to get customers without using any surveillance-based advertising. They need to find a more ethical way to reach their audience.
Other forms of advertising technology exist which does not depend on spying on competency. An alternative model can be implemented without significantly affecting revenue. But the only way it’s going to work is if everyone must follow the same rules and that’s what it is about. If you take this away from some companies and then let Google do FLoC and just collect data and sell it, which is not fair, it’s just going to be one form of monopoly. And that should not be allowed.
Don’t forget to subscribe to the No Hacks Marketing Podcast. And if you learned something new today, we would appreciate it if you can leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform.