Dan Hesmondhalgh

The CMA launching an investigation into Google search. What I think is striking and which I’d expect we will see more and more of across big tech is the suggestion these platforms may need to open up their (consented) user data. Privacy Enhancing Tech will be enabling this.

CMA to investigate Google’s search services Investigation to determine if Google has strategic market status in search and search advertising activities and whether these services are delivering good outcomes for people and businesses in the UK...

UK Competition and Markets Authority launches an investigation to assess Google’s position in search and advertising. Potential requirements could include sharing data to other businesses and giving publishers more control, including Google AI services www.gov.uk/government/n...

Happy new year Simon and absolutely here’s to collaborative successes in 2025, which always offer the potential for more than the sum of the parts

I’d think I’d ask my agent a question and advertisers bid on the basis of that question and my profile of interest in that brand or product - gleaned from past interactions with the agent/ the brand’s profile of me

It sounds pretty out there for sure and not exactly eco-friendly amongst other things. How do you think it will work? Same as search today effectively?

Got it thanks Alexandre, curious on 1) as targeting in the sandbox is currently ID-free. But you can use 1st party data to set audiences in the browser, which can then be targeted with no ID… so I guess something similar.

What do you make of the fingerprinting news? Is it chiefly with CTV streaming in mind? And does it make it in to Chrome’s user permission pop-up or a completely separate endeavour by the ads org?

Love this, great effort all concerned

‘Who are we?’
- I’m afraid I really can’t say, that’s kind of the point

‘And who are you?’
- you can call me PAAPI

I saw an article last week on how US federal regulators passed some comment on how conversion APIs might soon be coming into their aim. Now I can’t find it.. did anyone else see it and could share? :)

Got it, thanks Jason. The wider you get there the more that smells of being anti-competitive monopolistic behaviour, but I guess the CMA are on that. I wonder if the threat of break up might give them cause to row back a bit.

Or would that extend to websites you have ‘logged in with Google’ or even any browsing behaviour using the Chrome browser if taking the broadest of views of that consent?

Got it, thanks. And their advantage would then be the ability to set interest groups leveraging behavioural tracking from across the breadth of their O&O properties?

Do you see this having any impact on privacy sandbox rollout/ the announcement re the user consent pop up that was rumoured for this week?

...or snapped up by king orange himself incorporated into the new department of truth

Who could buy it? You’d think the highest bidder would be ‘an internet company’ that stands to gain something strangely resembling a monopolistic advantage 🙃

Who could realistically buy it without gaining a monopolistic advantage themselves? Figure more likely this is a first position by the DOJ and Google will fight tooth and nail to keep it

😃