NEWS  News  November 11, 2023  Reading time: 2 Minute(s)

Max (RS editor)

Google's initiative to cloak IP addresses in its Chrome browser, known as IP Protection, has come under fire from The Movement for an Open Web (MOW), a marketing advocacy group. The MOW, previously vocal against Google's Privacy Sandbox initiative, has lodged a complaint with the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), alleging that the proposed IP Protection poses challenges to online child protection efforts.

IP Protection, previously identified as "ip-blindness" or "Gnatcatcher," mirrors Apple's Privacy Relay, employing a dual-proxy system operated by Google and a third-party service such as Cloudflare. This approach aims to obscure users' true public IP addresses, hindering attempts by marketers to track individuals across various websites.

Expected to debut in Chrome 122, potentially as early as January 2024, IP Protection allows the Google-operated proxy to access users' IP addresses without knowledge of the visited websites. Meanwhile, the third-party proxy can identify the web servers being accessed but remains blind to the users' IP addresses. This segregation prevents websites and intermediaries from linking IP addresses to browsing habits, impeding the creation of detailed marketing profiles without additional information.

While IP Protection is initially designed as an opt-in feature, Google plans to make it the default setting for the Chrome browser. The Movement for an Open Web argues that this move contradicts Google's commitments to the CMA, a series of assurances made to the UK competition watchdog during the approval process for the Privacy Sandbox technologies, which are set to replace third-party cookies.

According to a letter from MOW's legal representative, Preiskel & Co LLP in London, addressed to both the CMA and UK telecom regulator Ofcom:

"Google's IP Protection means ISPs will no longer have visibility of data via an IP address, while leaving Google with the ability to monitor and process data at all times."

The group asserts that this shift will complicate the provision of child protection services by ISPs, raising concerns about the implications of the proposed IP cloaking mechanism on online safety measures.

The unfolding dispute underscores the ongoing tension between tech giants and advocacy groups over privacy measures and their potential impact on the digital advertising landscape. The CMA's response to MOW's complaint will undoubtedly be closely monitored as the debate over user privacy and targeted advertising continues to evolve.

(Original cover image by luis_molinero on Freepik/Review Space)