Google has been accused of secretly stalking and retrieving data from millions of users to pass it on to advertisers.
A survey by privacy-focused browser Brave revealed that Google was using secret web pages to collect user data and create profiles that allowed users to be targeted with ads.
The data regulator in Ireland is currently reviewing the evidence. A possible GDPR fine is to be expected if it turns out that Google has violated data protection laws. The company is accused of "exploiting personal data without sufficient control or sufficient data protection concern."
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Brave's policy officer, Johnny Ryan, discovered these practices and discovered that they were being traded on Google's advertising exchange platform, Authorized Buyers, formerly known as DoubleClick.
According to Ryan, Google had tagged him with an identification tracking tool provided to third-party companies that linked to a hidden web page.
Brave then ordered "hundreds of people" to be recruited to try and replicate Ryan's experience. The company found that Google's practices appeared to create a unique secret web page ID for each user.
These identifiers, which indicated the location and time of the user's browsing, were found to have been shared with various advertising agencies to improve the effectiveness of targeted advertising. .
In a statement to the Financial Times, Google said it cooperated with the Irish data regulator as part of its investigation.
"We do not serve personalized ads or bid on bidders without user consent," the company added.
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Via Financial Times