Another Setback For Google? Alphabet Faces Austrian Privacy Complaint Over Chrome Tracking

Alphabet Inc. GOOGL GOOG has been hit with a privacy complaint by Austrian advocacy group NOYB.

What Happened: The complaint alleges that Google tracks users of its Chrome browser without proper consent, according to Reuters on Thursday.

The U.S. tech giant is in the process of eliminating third-party cookies to enhance consumer privacy. Google has introduced the Privacy Sandbox, a set of tools designed to block covert tracking and limit data sharing with third parties.

Chrome users are prompted to enable an ad privacy feature to prevent tracking. However, NOYB claims this feature allows Google to track users within the browser, violating European Union privacy rules.

NOYB founder Max Schrems stated, “People thought they were agreeing to a privacy feature, but were tricked into accepting Google’s first-party ad tracking.”

NOYB filed the complaint with the Austrian data protection authority on Thursday. The group has previously lodged numerous complaints against major tech firms for alleged privacy violations.

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Why It Matters: This complaint comes amid increasing scrutiny of Alphabet Inc.’s privacy practices. In April, the U.K.’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) raised concerns about Google’s Privacy Sandbox, suggesting it might not sufficiently protect user privacy. The ICO’s preliminary findings indicated that the technology could potentially identify users who are supposed to remain anonymous.

Additionally, in early April, Google faced backlash for tracking users in Chrome’s “Incognito” mode. The company agreed to delete data collected from millions of users between 2016 and 2023, following a lawsuit that accused it of misleading users about their privacy.

NOYB, the advocacy group behind the latest complaint, has been actively challenging tech giants over privacy issues. Recently, they filed complaints against Meta Platforms Inc. for using European users’ public data to train AI models without adequate transparency.

Price Action: On Wednesday, GOOGL closed at $177.79 while GOOG closed at $179.56, according to Benzinga Pro.

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This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Pooja Rajkumari