Google upended plans by European media companies to block it from harvesting data about their readers and slash some of its dominance in online advertising, reported Reuters.
Publishers had expected to use data privacy measures going into effect August 15 to bar Google from storing insights about readers, sapping the data advantage that has enabled it to dominate a market filled with advertisers hungry for information to target potential customers.
But Google announced it will cut off publishers from a lucrative flow of ads if they follow through with curbing its data collection. Negotiations continue, but Google holds greater leverage because it dominates in both advertising tools and access to advertisers within the US$100 billion annual global banner ads market.
“You have to basically implement what (Google) expects from you or you’re out of the market – you can’t do without them,” said Thomas Adhumeau, general counsel at S4M, which competes with Google in software for advertisers.
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