The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has voiced strong concerns over Google’s upcoming changes to its online advertising policies, set to take effect in February 2024. According to the ICO, these updates could provide advertisers with greater freedom to track users through device fingerprinting, a method that the regulator warns could severely undermine individual privacy rights. The ICO, a key authority in data protection, has raised alarms that the new policy would allow advertisers to gather persistent identifiers, such as IP addresses, and combine them with other data like plugin information and timestamps. Unlike cookies, which users can disable or delete, device fingerprinting relies on signals that are difficult to block or erase, giving users less control over their personal information.
Stephen Almond, Executive Director of Regulatory Risk at the ICO, criticized the move, stating that Google’s policy change effectively grants businesses unchecked power to deploy fingerprinting for tracking purposes. The ICO’s concern stems from the fact that fingerprinting, unlike traditional cookies, creates unique identifiers that can follow users across different websites and platforms. Almond emphasized that while such advertising technologies have a role in the market, they must be deployed transparently and with user consent, or the ICO will take regulatory action to ensure compliance with data protection laws.
In response, Google has defended its policy update, highlighting that the use of IP addresses combined with privacy-enhancing technologies such as on-device processing and secure multi-party computation is aimed at improving the advertising ecosystem while maintaining user privacy. The tech giant points out that IP addresses have already been in use for fraud prevention in online advertising and assures users that they will continue to have control over whether they receive personalized ads. However, the ICO has made it clear that any tracking method, including fingerprinting, must comply with strict data protection rules to avoid violations of privacy rights.
As part of its efforts to address these concerns, the ICO has published draft guidance for advertisers, outlining the need for explicit user consent before deploying fingerprinting or other tracking technologies. This guidance underscores the importance of transparency in digital advertising practices, urging businesses to be clear about the data they collect and how it is used. The ICO’s stance on this issue reinforces the ongoing debate around user privacy, data protection, and the growing role of advertising technologies in the digital age. With regulatory scrutiny increasing, businesses may need to reconsider their approaches to user tracking and prioritize transparency to avoid potential legal and reputational risks.
