Google joins forces with Facebook to undermine Apple's privacy features

In the latest filing of an antitrust lawsuit filed against the search engine Google, the attorney general of many states said that Google is working with social media platform Facebook to prevent Apple from providing users with better privacy protections.

It is reported that the attorneys general of 12 states in the United States have previously jointly launched antitrust lawsuits against Google. The latest filing of the lawsuit states: "The two companies have been working together to improve Facebook's ability to identify users whose cookies are blocked on Apple devices and Apple's Safari browsers." "This would bypass a large tech company's efforts to compete in the market by providing users with better privacy protections."

The lawsuit, first filed in December 2020 by U.S. state attorneys generals, mainly accuses Google of engaging in market collusion, with the core of which is that Facebook and Google agreed to cooperate in the face of regulatory scrutiny.

State attorneys general also accused Facebook and Google of illegal advertising transactions. The lawsuit alleges that Google used its monopoly position in the ad technology business to help Facebook bid in the ad auction, making it easier for Facebook content to appear in Google ads.

A Facebook spokesperson responded in an emailed statement: "Facebook has always supported fair and transparent advertising auctions, with all bidders bidding at the same time, with the highest bidder winning." "Facebook's non-exclusive bidding agreement with Google, as well as our similar agreements with other ad auction platforms, have helped increase competition for ad placements."

The lawsuit documents cite a discussion by Facebook employees in 2019 saying that Facebook had had trouble matching users on Apple's Safari browser. Google insists that Facebook's user match rate is no different from that of other ad bidders. But Facebook employees noted that Google is willing to use Javascript scripting language to help Facebook better identify these users.

Attorneys general claimed That Facebook was essentially luring Google into the deal, but Google denied claims in the lawsuit documents.

Google and Apple representatives did not respond to requests for comment.

In recent years, Apple has stepped up its efforts to protect user privacy. In 2018, Apple set more privacy protection measures in its own products such as Safari Browser, such as requiring websites to request tracking functions from users, and if users do not visit the website within 30 days, Apple Browser will automatically delete the corresponding user cookies.

This summer, Apple launched the App Tracking Transparency tool, which prompts users to choose whether apps can track their own behavior, which has greatly affected the advertising business of companies such as Facebook. A Safari browser privacy report also details how websites track users.

Google, Apple, and Facebook have been the focus of antitrust. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a lawsuit against Facebook for monopolizing the social networking market, but was dismissed by a U.S. federal judge in June. Facebook is also reportedly preparing to file an antitrust lawsuit against apple app store regulations, saying that Apple has stifled the development of third-party app developers.

In June, the U.S. Congress introduced five technology regulation bills specifically targeting four big tech companies: Facebook, Google, Apple and Amazon. The bills will provide regulators with more ways to curb the excessive market clout that tech companies have.