EU: Brussels asks news stations to describe their data deals with Google

The European Commission has sent detailed questionnaires to news publishers as it tries to understand whether the way Google collects data from their websites allows it to stifle competition in online advertising. 

The questionnaire, seen by the Financial Times, asks news publishers to explain how Google tracks user activity and browsing data from their sites in order to subsequently personalize adverts. 

“Describe any agreements . . . based on which Google collects data from your company or is allowed to obtain data from users of your websites or apps,” stated one question, asking the publishers to describe the scope, duration, and rationale for their deals with Google. The questions also ask whether Google provides any technical support or compensation in exchange for the data.

The questions also ask whether Google provides any technical support or compensation in exchange for the data. In a sign of how the Commission’s antitrust investigators are trying to shape a case against Google, the questions focus on whether the internet company is using its dominance to force publishers into sharing data, and whether that data is then repackaged and sold on by Google to third parties, giving any of its advertising clients the same information that news websites have about their readers.

Full Content: Financial Times

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