Google challenged over EU data role
GOOGLE is forcing media firms that generate revenue from its advertising services to accept unreasonable responsibilities under a new European privacy law, four major publisher trade groups have told the Alphabet Inc unit in a letter seen by Reuters.
The dispute reflects differing interpretations of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which imposes a range of new requirements on how companies collect and process personal information about EU users from May 25.
Google is the biggest vendor of the software and services that many newspapers and digital media firms use to sell ads on their websites and mobile apps.
As part of its plans for GDPR, Google wants to offload to publishers the burden of getting user consent for the data collection that is core to Google’s ad-serving business operates.
“Your proposal severely falls short on many levels,” publisher groups wrote to Google CEO Sundar Pichai, adding that it “would undermine the fundamental purposes of the GDPR and the efforts of publishers to comply with the letter and spirit of the law”.
Signing the five-page letter, which ends on several questions to Google, were Digital Content Next, European Publishers Council, News Media Alliance and News Media Association.
They represent about 4,000 newspapers and media companies, primarily in Europe and North America, including Axel Springer, Telegraph Media Group, New York Times Co (NYT.N), Associated Press and Thomson Reuters. (Reuters)